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Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


A  COMPLETE  HISTORY 

OF  THE 

NEW  YOEK  anfl  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE 

From  its  Conception  in  1866  to  its  Completion  in  1883. 


Compiled  by  S.  W.  GREEN. 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  SKETCHES  OF  THE  LIVES  OF 

JOHN  A.  ROEBLING,  J.  S.  T.  STRANAHAN, 

WASHINGTON  A.  ROEBLING,  WILLIAM  C.  KINGSLEY, 

HENRY  C.  MURPHY,  SETH  LOW. 


COPIOUSLY  ILLUSTRATED 

With  Original  Drawings  never  before  Published. 

PRICE    25  CEXTS. 


NEW  YORK : 
S.  W.  G-KEEX'S  SOX,  #  PUBLISHER, 
696  Broadway 
18S3. 


ROEBLING'S 

Steel  and  Iron 


Of  Every  Kind  and  for  Every  Purpose. 
j±  SPECIALTY. 


C„.l,.St.n  ««..  Cincinnati  Sn.p.n.lo.  Bridge  H»  »,  JOHN  A.  R0BBL1NB.    HMn  Sp.n,  I.05J  ft. 

Pulleys  and  Ropes  for  Transmission  ot  Power  Long  Distances. 


Manufacturers  of 


CHARCOAL  AND  SWEDES  IRON  BESSEMER  AND  CRUCIBLE  STEEL  WIRES, 
Galvanized  Telegraph  Wire  a  Specialty. 

Works  and  Office  14  Drum  Street,  Off.ce  and  Warehouse: 

TRENTON,      SAN  FRANCISCO.  117 

H.  L.  SHIPPY,  Agent. 


EST-^IBLISIELEID  1794. 

Lawrence  &  Schieffelin,  1794.  H.  H.  Schieffelin  &  Co.,  1813. 

Jacob  Schieffelin,  1799.  Schieffelin  Brothers  &  Co.,  1849. 

J.  Schieffelin  &  Son,  1803.  W.  H.  Schieffelin  &  Co.,  1865. 


W.  H.  Schieffelin  &  Co., 

Importers,  Exporters,  Jobbers  and  Manufacturers  of 

DRUGS,  CHEMICALS, 


AND 


Ptaiwtal  :  Frpatis, 

NEW  YORK. 

Imported  and  Indigenous  Drugs,  Staple  Chemicals, 

Foreign  and  Domestic  Medical  Preparations, 
Fine  Essential  Oils  and  Select  Powders, 
New  Pharmaceutical  Remedies ; 
Mediterranean,  Bahama,  and  Florida  Sponges  ; 

Druggists'  Sundries,  Novelties,  and  Fancy  Goods. 

PURE  DRUGS. 

AGENTS  FOR 

Gardner's  Special  Pharmaceutical  Preparations,  Swaim's  Panacea, 
Moller's  Purest  Norwegian  Cod  Liver  Oil,  Beranger's  Apotheca- 
ries' Scales,  Cooper's  Eeversible  Pill  Machines,  Graduated  Evap- 
orating Dishes,  McElroy's  Patent  Glass  Syringes,  Swift's  Drug 
Mills,  Swift's  Tincture  Presses,  Sarg's  Transparent  Glycerine  Soaps, 
Page's  Patent  Vaporizer  and  Vapo-Cresoline. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Standard  Pharmaceutical  Preparations, 

Including  Fluid  and  Solid  Extracts,  Elixirs, 
Syrups,  Ointments,  and 

SOLUBLE     OO-A-TIEID  PILLS. 

Comprising  all  the  Officinal  Pills  of  the  Pharmacopoea, 

Unequalled  in  regard  to  Purity  of  Composition,  Solubility  of  Coating, 
Uniformity  in  Size,  and  Perfection  of  Form  and  Finish. 


A  COMPLETE  HISTORY 

OF  THE 


From  its  Conception  in  1866  to  its  Completion  in  1883, 

Compiled  by  S.  W.  GREEN. 

WITH    PORTRAITS    AND    SKETCHES    OF    THE    LIVES  OF 

JOHN  A.  ROEBLING, 

WASHINGTON  A.  ROEBLING, 
HENRY  C.  MURPHY, 

J.  S.  T.  STRANAHAN, 

WILLIAM  C.  KINGSLEY, 
SETH  LOW. 


COPIOUSLY  ILLUSTRATED 

With  Original  Drawings  never  before  Published. 


NEW  YORK: 
S.  W.  GREEN'S  SON,  PUBLISHER, 
696  Broadway. 
1883. 


Copyright,  1883,  by  CHAS.  M.  GREEN 


Printed,  Electrotyped  and  Bound  by 
THE  CHAS.  M.  GREEN  PRINTING  CO., 
74  and  76  Beekman  Street, 
New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


Introductory   9 

At  last — A  long  time : — And  yet  a  short — Mr.  Kingsley  at  the  plough — 
Act  of  incorporation  and  corporators — Assumption  by  the  two  cities — 
The  two  Roeblings — The  increased  cost  and  why — The  task  ahead. 

The  Caisson   15 


Its  many  legs — The  air-lock — The  water-shafts — Other  shafts — Com- 
pressors— Must  be  tight — Place  for  the  caisson — Its  berth  made  and  occu- 
pied— The  stone  foundations  begun — How  the  caisson  sinks — Difficulties 
— Blasting — The  caisson  disease — A  hint  of  the  disease — A  weird  scene — 
Lighting  the  caisson — Accidents — "Sealing"  the  water-shafts — A  great 
"blow-out" — Fire! — Col.  Roebling  partially  paralyzed — Three  months 
lost — Cost  of  the  accident — The  Broo  klyn  foundations  finished — A  coffer- 
dam—The ledge  under  Manhattan  island. 


The  Towers  '.   29 

Tower- building  — The  saddle-plates  —  The  saddles  — Good  head  and 
hand  work— What  next? 

The  Anchorages   32 

Foundation  of  Brooklyn  anchorage — Foundation  of  New  York  anchor- 
age— The  anchor-plates — The  anchor-bars — The  outer  bars' en<J  in  two 
fingers— The  chain  begun. 

Cable- making     36 

Come,  cable! — Towers  and  anchorages — Getting  ready  for  cable-making 


—The  first  rope  across— Mr.  Farrington  first  over— Other  ropes — The 
foot-bridge— The  cradles— Their  uses— The  great  cables— The  strands— 
The  shoe— The  wire—"  Drumming  up"— Splicing— The  guide-wire— The 
travelling  sheave— "  Regulating"  the  wire— Wrapping  the  strand— "Let- 
ting off  "—Temporary  central  cable— A  strand  breaks  loose— Destroying 
the  strand  formation— Wrapping  cables  finished— Hanging  the  roadway 
— Suspender-bands  and  sockets — Suspender-ropes,  sockets,  and  stirrup- 
rods — Floor-beams — Laying  the  floor — Cables  below  the  roadway — The 
suspender  stays — The  longitudinal  trusses— Prevention  of  lateral  move- 
ment— The  lateral  braces — Universal  stanchness. 


6 


CONTENTS. 


The  Pathways  on  the  Bridge   55 

The  footway — The  railway — The  driveway — Expansion  joints — Elec- 
tric lights. 

New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  their  Environs   59 

Growth  of  New  York — Growth  of  Brooklyn — The  tongue  on  which 
New  York  stands — Many  New  Yorkers  must  live  outside  the  city — New 
Jersey — Staten  Island — Long  Island  ahoy ! — Travel  over  the  old  Brooklyn 
ferries — Ferriage  difficulties— Fog — Ice — The  release — The  new.  thorough- 
fare— Seems  like  a  street — The  view  from  it — The  human  brain — "Bad 
for  the  coo." 

The  Question  of  Tolls   69 

Two  views — Foot-passengers  —  Footway  will  not  be  lonesome — The 
railway  service — Tolls  on  the  driveway — The  Union  Ferry  Company. 

The  Prospects  for  Brooklyn   73 

The  dormitory  of  New  York — Rapid  transit  in  Brooklyn — Flatbush 
Avenue  extension. 

Future  of  Long  Island   76 

"Fish-shaped  Paumanok"— The  Long  Island  Railroad— The  Bridge  in 
the  railroad  circuit. 

Honor  to  Whom  Honor  is  Due   79 

Sketches  of  Men  Prominent  in  the  Enterprise   81 


John  A.  Roebling   81 

Washington  A.  Roebling   82 

William  C.  Kingsley   86 


Henry  C.  Murphy   88 

James  S.  T.  Stranahan   90 

Seth  Low  92 


Statistical  Items 


94 


« 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

The  Bridge  from  Governor's  Island   2 

The  Caisson,  on  its  Downward  Road  :   19 

Top  of  Tower,  with  Saddles  and  Connections   29 

Anchorage  and  Strand  Fastenings   35 

Mr.  Farrington  Crosses  on  the  Traveler   38 

Splicing  Wires   43 

Cross-Section  of  Cable   45 

Wrapping  Cables   48 

Bridge  from  Below,  near  Fulton  Ferry   54 

Section  of  Passageways  of  Bridge   56 

Proposed  Flatbush  Avenue  Extension   74 

Portrait  of  John  A.  Roebling  .   81 

Portrait  of  Washington  A.  Roebling   84 

Portrait  of  William  C.  Kingsley   86 

Portrait  of  Henry  C.  Murphy   88 

Portrait  of  James  S.  T.  Stranahan   90 

Portrait  of  Mayor  Low   93 


The  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge 


AT  LAST. 

The  tide  of  travel  begins  to  flow  back  and  forth  over  the  great 
structure  which  now  unites  the  largest  and  the  third  largest  cities 
of  the  Union,  the  Atlantic  pulsating  between.  No  longer  can  the 
impatient  passenger  over  the  East  River,  detained  by  fog  or  ice, 
look  up  at  the  slowly-growing  causeway  overhead,  and  wonder  to 
himself  and  his  neighbor  whether  he  shall  live  to  cross  it,  and 
incredulously  shake  his  head.  The  old  Brooklyn  resident  sees  the 
task  accomplished ;  and  the  long  years  of  waiting  dwindle  to  a 
moment  smaller  than  that  in  which  the  Arabian  Nights  hero  ducked 
his  head  in  the  tub  of  water,  and  experienced  the  vicissitudes  of 
half  a  lifetime  before  he  drew  it  out  again,  and  all  within  the  com- 
pass of  a  breath.  How  recent  seems  the  agitation  whether  such  a 
thing  were  possible ;  the  various  plans,  bordering  all  the  way  from 
sober  sanity  to  stark  inanity ;  how  of  yesterday  the  persistent  face 
and  figure  that  buttonholed  the  traveller  at  Fulton  and  Main  Streets, 
and  would  unroll  his  sanguine  map  to  your  indifferent  gaze  if  you 
dallied  with  him  an  instant. 

A  LONG  TIME. 

Nearly  twenty  years  have  gone  since  the  matter  was  first  effec- 
tively agitated — more  than  sixteen  since  the  charter  was  passed. 
How  frequent  and  long  the  delay  seemed !  And  yet,  as  all  have 
been-  surmounted,  even  John  Kelly  left  years  behind,  the  time 
seems  short  for  the  work  done.    Examine,  step  by  step,  as  you 


10 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


pass  from  Brooklyn  to  New  York.  From  under  the  Bridge  scan 
the  nine  hundred  and  thirty  feet  you  traverse  over  Prospect  and 
Main  Streets  to  the  Dock  Street  side  of  the  Brooklyn  anchorage. 
View  the  arches  crossing  each  other  diagonally  in  the  bridges  over 
the  streets  and  in  the  anchorage  itself.  What  long-continued  and 
patient  work,  directed  and  watched  by  what  an  educated  brain ! 
As  the  eye  roams  up  and  down  and  across,  inside  and  outside,  on 
brick  and  on  stone,  it  is  perpetually  called  to  stop  and  admire. 
And  where  you  and  I  admire  to  the  extent  of  our  small  capacity, 
the  trained  and  capable  engineer  is  filled  as  full  of  delight  and 
wonder  to  the  extent  of  his  vastly  greater  capacity.  So  at  the 
New  York  ends  from  Chatham  Street,  over  North  William  .and 
William  Streets,  over  Rose  and  Tandewater  Streets,  over  Cliff  and 
Pearl  to  the  Cherry  Street  side  of  the  New  York  anchorage,  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty  feet  of  the  same  splendid  workman- 
ship and  material. 

AND  YET  A  SHORT. 

And  then  you  are  only  on  the  threshold  of  the  wonder !  From 
the  land  side  of  either  anchorage  walk  across  the  solid  masonry 
more  than  one  hundred  feet  to  the  seaward  side.  See  stretching 
away  in  the  distance  the  cable-hung  Bridge  proper,  suspended  high 
in  air  nine  hundred  and  thirty  feet  land  span  to  the  nearest  tower ; 
then  more  than  fifteen  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet  over  the  At- 
lantic Ocean,  here  beating  back  and  forth  in  the  strait  misnamed 
the  East  River ;  and  then  another  nine  hundred  and  thirty  feet  to 
the  other  anchorage.  Those  four  cables,  each  lying  so  airy  and  so 
graceful  in  its  three  descending  loops,  airy  and  graceful  as  they  are, 
measure  nearty  sixteen  inches  in  diameter  each,  and  each  of  them 
weighs  nearly  nine  hundred  tons.  And  that  five-tracked  roadway 
extending  from  the  mainland  and  resting  on  these  cables,  some- 
times hung  below  them,  sometimes  lying  directly  on  them,  and  in 
their  lowest  bends  carried  above  them  on  pillars,  guyed  and  braced 
in  all  directions ;  how  firm  it  stands !  how  indifferent  to  wind  and 


PRELIMINARY. 


11 


storm !  Does  not  the  wonder  grow,  not  that  the  Bridge  has  been 
so  long  a-building,  but  that  it  lias  been  built  so  quickly  ? 

MR.  KINGSLEY  AT  THE  PLOUGH. 

When,  in  1865,  Mr.  William  C.  Kingsley  first  took  fairly  hold 
of  this  enterprise,  and  had  plans  and  estimates  made  by  competent 
men,  almost  the  same  line  was  recommended  as  the  Bridge  actually 
now  occupies.  This  line  extends  from  a  point  in  Brooklyn  near 
the  junction  of  Sands  and  Washington  Streets  about  38-J-  feet  above 
high-water  mark,  to  Chatham  Street,  New  York,  near  the  City 
Hall,  about  61|-  feet  above  high-water  mark.  When  afterwards 
permission  was  obtained  from  the  United  States  Government  to 
put  a  suspension-bridge  across  the  river,  that  permission  stipulated 
that  the  channel  of  the  river  should  not  be  interfered  with  in  any 
way,  and  that  the  highest  part  of  the  Bridge  should  be  at  least  one 
hundred  and  thirty -five  feet  above  high-water  mark.  So  that  the 
place  of  each  terminus,  and  that  of  the  highest  part  of  the  main 
span,  were  settled. 

ACT  OF  INCORPORATION  AND  CORPORATORS. 

The  original  act  to  incorporate  the  New  York  Bridge  Company 
was  introduced  in  the  Senate  of  this  State  by  Hon.  Henry  C. 
Murphy,  Jan.  25, 1867,  and  passed  the  16th  of  the  following  April. 
The  charter  fixed  the  capital  at  $5,000,000  to  begin  with,  and  au- 
thorized the  cities  of  JSTew  York  and  Brooklyn,  through  their  com- 
mon councils,  to  subscribe  for  stock.  The  original  incorporators 
were:  John  T.  Hoffman,  Simeon  B.  Chittenden,  Edward  Buggies, 
Smith  Ely,  Jr.,  Samuel  Booth,  Grenville  T.  Jenks,  Alexander 
McCue,  Henry  E.  Pierrepont,  Martin  Kalbfleisch,  John  Roach, 
Charles  A.  Townsend,  Henry  E.  Stebbins,  Charles  E.  Bell,  Chaun- 
cey  L.  Mitchell,  T.  Bailey  Myers,  Seymour  L.  Husted,  William 
A.  Fowler,  William  W.  W.  Wood,  Andrew  H.  Green,  Edmund 
W.  Corlies,  William  C.  Kushmore,  Ethelbert  S.  Mills,  Alfred  W. 


12 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


Craven,  Arthur  W.  Benson,  T.  B.  Cornell,  John  W.  Hay  ward, 
Isaac  Yan  Anden,  Pomeroy  P.  Dickinson,  Alfred  M.  Wood,  J. 
Carson  Brevoort,  William  Marshall,  Samuel  McLean,  John  W. 
Combs,  William  Hunter,  Jr.,  John  II.  Prentice,  Edmund  Driggs, 
John  P.  Atkinson,  and  John  Morton. 

ASSUMPTION  BY  THE  TWO  CITIES. 

But  as  the  work  progressed  a  feeling  of  jealousy  arose  against 
the  control  by  a  private  company  of  the  public  moneys  voted  by  the 
two  common  councils;  and  June  5,  1874,  an  act  was  passed  by 
which  the  two  cities  assumed  the  Bridge,  paying  back  to  the 
original  subscribers  the  amount  of  their  subscriptions,  with  interest ; 
and  the  management  was  put  under  the  control  of  a  board  of 
twenty  trustees,  ten  from  each  city,  including  its  mayor  and 
comptroller.  The  funds  were  raised,  two  thirds  by  Brooklyn 
and  one  third  by  New  York.  The  working  staff  of  the  Bridge 
and  its  managing  minds  have  remained  substantially  the  same  from 
the  start. 

THE  TWO  ROEBLINGS. 

The  company  organized  in  May,  1867,  and  John  A.  Poebling 
was  appointed  engineer  May  23.  He  made  his  plans  and  estimates, 
and  submitted  them  the  next  September.  But  in  1869,  while 
standing  on  the  Fulton  Ferry  Dock  fixing  the  location  of  the 
Brooklyn  tower,  a  ferryboat,  colliding  with  the  side  of  the  slip, 
caught  and  crushed  Mr.  Roebling's  foot.  He  died  a  little  more 
than  a  fortnight  after  this  accident,  July  22,  1869.  His  place  was 
taken  by  his  son  and  associate,  Col.  Washington  A.  Poebling,  and 
under  his  management  and  oversight  the  work  has  been  completed. 

THE  INCREASED  COST,  AND  WHY. 

The  original  figures  have  been  largely  exceeded.  At  the  begin- 
ning, the  elder  Roebling  estimated  that  the  bridge  could  be  built 
in  five  years,,  for  $7,000,000,  exclusive  of  the  land.    The  land  cost 


PRELIMINARY. 


13 


about  $3,800,000,  making,  as  originally  estimated,  $10,800,000  for 
Bridge  and  land.  But  the  work  has  cost  about  $15,000,000,  nearly 
$5,000,000  more,  and  has  taken  more  than  twice  the  time.  The 
original  estimated  height  was  130  feet,  to  which  the  United  States 
Government  added  5  feet.  The  original  estimate  was  for  a  width 
of  80  feet.  The  Bridge  was  made  85.  For  the  New  York  tower 
a  foundation  had  to  be  sunk  to  nearly  double  the  depth  originally 
estimated.  Then  the  suspended  structure  and  the  cables  carrying 
it  have  been  made  of  steel  instead  of  iron.  The  approaches,  too, 
are  solid  mason-work,  with  many  desirable  tire-proof  stores  to  let 
in  their  arches,  instead  of  passing  over  on  trusses,  as  first  intended. 
This  also  necessitated  the  buying  of  property  not  originally  con- 
templated. One  building  in  Frankfort  Street  cost  the  Bridge  more 
than  $100,000  purchase-money,  besides  the  expense  of  taking  down 
six  fire-proof  stories.  Station-houses,  "  incidentals,"  law  expenses, 
discounts,  and  delays  have  also  counted  up.  The  work  stood  still 
for  months,  owing  to  the  refusal  of  John  Kelly,  then  Comptroller, 
to  furnish  New  York's  part  of  the  funds ;  and  the  Trustees  had  to 
carry  the  case  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  before  they  could  get  the 
money  to  which  the  court  of  last  resort  said  they  had  all  along 
been  entitled.  These  very  delays  have  been  of  unexpected  and 
enormous  advantage  to  the  solidity  and  permanence  of  the  Bridge. 
But  for  that  occasioned  by  Mr.  "Kelly's  obstruction,  and  carrying 
the  case  through  the  courts,  iron  would  have  been  employed  as  at 
first  intended.  Before  building  was  resumed,  methods  were  dis- 
covered of  constructing  in  steel  what  before  was  not  possible  in 
that  substance ;  and  these  methods  were  utilized  when  the  work 
upon  the  Bridge  was  again  taken  up. 


THE  TASK  AHEAD. 

But  let  us  go  back  again  to  the  beginning.  To  carry  this  projected 
roadway  135  feet  above  mean  high-water  mark,  a  tower  must  be 
built  on  each  side  the  river  so  high  that  the  cable  may  droop  from 
the  top  of  each,  and  the  loop  in  its  centre  rest  this  135  feet  above 


14 


NEW  FORK  AM)  HUOOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


the  river.  And  through  these  towers  must  be  openings  for  the 
roadway  to  pass,  gently  rising  from  each  end  to  its  extreme  height, 
the  supporting  cables  gracefully  curving  down  and  the  suspended 
roadway  as  gracefully  curving  up.  It  was  decided  that  the  floor 
of  the  openings  in  the  tower  through  which  the  roadway  must  pass 
should  be  119  feet  above  high- water  mark,  the  top  of  the  tower 
over  which  the  cable  must  pass  should  be  159  feet  above  the  road- 
way, and  the  total  height  of  the  tower  above  high- water  mark 
nearly  277  feet.  And  it  was  decided  that  each  tower  must  be 
140  X  59  feet  at  high-water  mark,  gradually  drawn  in  to  136  X  53 
feet  at  the  top.  On  what  shall  this  enormous  mass  of  masonry  rest? 
And  how  shall  its  foundations  be  firmly  laid  beneath  the  waves  of 
the  ocean  surging  through  the  East  Kiver  % 


THE  CAISSON. 


15 


THE  CAISSON. 

The  plan  almost  necessarily  selected  was  that  of  the  caisson,  a 
French  word  meaning  chest.  As  here  used  it  is  an  enormous  box 
or  trunk,  large  enough  to  underlie  the  140  X  59  feet  of  the  tower, 
and  strong  enough  to  carry  this  tower  on  its  back.  In  a  ship-yard 
it  is  built ;  some  of  the  timber  courses,  however,  not  being  put  on 
till  it  is  in  position.  The  Brooklyn  caisson  has  a  top  15  feet 
thick,  of  solid  yellow-pine  beams,  each  one  foot  square,  laid  in 
courses  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  the  whole  mass  being  bolted 
together  in  the  strongest  possible  manner.  Its  size  from  edge  to 
edge  is  168  X 102  feet — a  little  larger  than  the  base  of  the  tower. 
This  great  mass  rests  on  four  sides,  each  9^  feet  high,  9  feet  thick 
where  they  join  the  top,  and  tapering  like  an  italic  V  to  an  edge  of 
six  inches,  shod  with  thick  cast-iron  rounded.  So  that  this  mam- 
moth Saratoga  trunk  has  no  bottom,  an  inside  9  feet  high,  with 
sides  tapering  to  its  no  bottom,  and  a  lid  15  feet  thick,  which  won't 
open.    What  an  oyster  for  a  typical  baggage-smasher ! 

ITS  MANY  LEGS. 

But  heavy  as  our  lid  is,  it  cannot  be  trusted  to  carry  the  founda- 
tions on  the  sharp  edges  of  its  sides.  Across  the  102  feet  run  five 
timber  partitions  2  feet  thick,  strong  and  well  braced,  dividing 
the  168  feet  into  six  compartments.  And  in  each  of  these  parti- 
tions are  two  openings,  high  and  wide  enough  for  a  man  to  push  a 
barrow  through.  What  Frankenstein  can  grasp  this  mighty  box, 
put  it  flat  on  the  bottom  of  the  river,  hold  it  with  one  hand,  while 
with  the  other  he  wields  a  gigantic  straw,  perforates  to  the  inside 
of  the  "  Saratoga,"  and,  with  his  huge  lungs,  blows  in  the  air  till 
the  water  is  driven  out  below  the  cast-iron  shoes,  so  that,  protected 


16 


NEW   FORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


by  his  mighty  breath,  crowds  of  pigmies  may  go  down  cellar  and 
work?  And  if  he  can  only  keep  the  cellar  clear,  get  the  pigmies 
out  and  in,  and  remove  the  debris  their  picks  and  shovels  and 
barrows  make  ready,  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  he  can  sink 
the  cellar  till  he  comes  to  bed-rock.  The  Frankenstein  was  called, 
and  came. 

THE  AIR-LOCK. 

Provision  hau  to  be  made  through  the  lid  of  this  trunk,  the 
roof  of  this  caisson,  for  various  things,  and  as  it  was  built  up  in 
the  ship-yard  the  necessary  shafts  or  tubes  were  put  in.  Two 
were  for  the  entrance  and  exit  of  men.  They  were  round,  and  to 
the  top  of  each  was  bolted  an  "  air-lock,"  a  wrought-iron  cylinder 
seven  feet  high  by  six  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  and  at  each  end 
a  valve  or  door  large  enough  to  pass  the  body  of  a  man,  each  door 
opening  downwards.  Ladders  reached  from  the  top  of  the  shaft 
to  the  bottom  of  the  cellar.  Near  the  lower  door  was  a  valve  open- 
ing into  the  cellar.  On  entering  the  air-lock  from  above  the 
upper  door  was  closed  by  a  roj>e  and  pulley,  and  the  valve  into  the 
cellar  opened.  As  soon  as  the  compressed  air,  or  giant's  breath, 
had  equalized  itself  between  the  cellar  and  air-lock,  the  lower 
door  dropped  open,  and  the  ladder  gave  admission  to  the  working 
chambers. 

THE  WATER-SHAFTS. 

Two  more  tubes  were  called  "  water-shafts,"  and  were  used  for 
the  removal  of  the  debris  dug  and  blasted  from  the  cellar.  They 
were  about  the  same  size  as  the  entrance-shafts,  though  those  in  the 
Brooklyn  caisson  were  not  round,  but  rectangular.  They  were  let 
down  into  open  pits  in  the  ground  dug  below  the  level  at  which 
the  water  was  held  by  the  compressed  air.  As  the  water  in  these 
pits  stood  at  that  level  the  compressed  air  was  locked  out  of  them, 
and  whatever  was  excavated  and  dumped  by  the  miners  into  these 
pits  fell  to  the  bottom.  A  dredging-machine  operated  through 
each  of  the  shafts  into  these  pits,  on  the  same  principle  as  those 


THE  CAISSON. 


17 


we  see  at  work  in  slips  and  the  harbor,  and  their  iron  fingers 
clawed  up  from  the  bottom  whatever  was  there  "  dumped,"  rose 
with  their  load  to  the  surface,  and  deposited  it  in  the  attendant 
scow. 

OTHER  SHAFTS. 

Other  tubes  called  "supply-shafts"  were  made,  through  which 
the  caisson  might  be  filled  when  it  reached  its  permanent  bed. 
Smaller  pipes  were  put  in  to  supply  gas  and  water,  and  to  blow 
out  sand  by  air-pressure.  Of  course,  as  the  masonry  was  afterwards 
built  on,  these  shafts  were  kept  open  through  it. 

COMPRESSORS. 

Compressors  or  air-pumps  were  set  up  in  a  building  on  shore, 
and  connected  with  the  interior  of  the  caisson  by  means  of  a  large 
cast-iron  pipe  laid  underground,  and  by  rubber  hose.  Through 
these  the  Frankenstein  could  blow  the  water  out. 

MUST  BE  TIGHT. 

It  stands  to  reason  that  all  this  structure  must  be  made  water- 
tight. Between  the  timbers  of  the  lid  were  metal  plates,  and  joints 
were  at  first  calked  with  oakum.  The  compressors  have  enough 
to  do  to  drive  the  inevitable  weight  of  water  from  the  cellar,  and 
must  be  spared  any  unnecessary  work. 

PLACE  FOR  THE  CAISSON. 

Let  us  go  back  to  our  caisson  in  the  ship-yard,  finished  as  de- 
scribed above,  resting  on  ways,  ready  to  be  launched.  Meanwhile 
the  place  where  it  is  to  be  sunk  has  been  made  ready.  The  work 
in  which  the  elder  Eoebling  lost  his  life  has  been  completed  by 
others.  The  spare  slip  at  Fulton  Ferry  on  the  Brooklyn  shore  has 
been  removed,  and  the  bottom  levelled  off  so  as  to  get  a  depth  of 
18  feet  clear  water.  This  has  been  no  easy  task.  Part  of  the 
2 


18 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


river  bed  here  was  a  compact  mass  of  sand,  clay,  and  bowlders,  so 
cemented  together  that  the  dredge  was  useless.  Wrought-iron 
piles  six  inches  in  diameter  had  to  be  driven  in,  drawn  out  again, 
the  holes  they  left  tilled  with  cast-iron  canisters  carrying  heavy 
charges  of  powder,  and  fired  by  electricity.  This  done,  the 
dredges  could  clutch  and  remove  the  debris  the  explosion  had  left, 
and  at  last  the  18  feet  of  depth  is  cleared. 

ITS  BERTH  MADE  AND  OCCUPIED. 

To  fix  the  position  of  the  caisson,  a  row  of  piles  and  sheeting  is 
driven  in,  168  feet  along  the  shore  line,  and  at  each  end  another 
row  102  feet  long,  at  right  angles  to  the  first,  thus  forming  a  pew 
or  pen  open  on  three  sides  for  the  admission  of  the  caisson,  into 
which  it  is  towed,  and  then  the  remaining  side,  168  feet  again, 
made  in  the  same  way.  To  help  buoy  the  caisson  in  its  transit 
from  the  ship-yard  to  its  place,  heavy  as  it  is,  a  force-pump  is  erected 
on  its  deck  and  compressed  air  driven  in.  The  great  chest  is  now 
floating  in  the  water,  held  in  on  >  every  side  by  its  encompassing 
fence  of  piles.  The  engineers  determine  its  place  with  extreme 
nicety,  and  fix  and  fasten  it  there  by  blocks  and  wedges,  and  here 
it  rises  and  sinks  with  the  tide.  Three  large  derricks,  each  with  a 
ten-ton  lift,  are  erected  in  the  caisson  so  as  to  reach  all  parts  of  the 
work,  and  tracks  are  laid  to  bring  the  stone  from  the  dock  to  the 
derricks. 

THE  STONE  FOUNDATIONS  BEGUN. 

Now  begin  the  foundations  of  the  stone  pier  that  is  to  be  on  the 
top  of  the  caisson.  The  great  squared  blocks,  limestone  inside 
and  granite  outside,  brought  on  the  tracks  and  -lifted  by  the  der- 
ricks, are  lowered  one  by  one  into  place,  until,  the  first  course  laid 
complete,  140  feet  long  and  59  feet  wide,  the  monster  caisson  has 
settled  with  its  load,  and  does  not  rise  as  high  with  the  flowing  tide 
as  it  did.  By  and  by  the  added  blocks  sink  the  caisson  till  it  set- 
tles to  the  bottom,  and  there  remains,  its  top  still  visible  above 


THE  CAISSON. 


19 


water.  The  compressed  air  is  pumped  into  the  interior  of  the 
caisson  and  drives  out  the  water,  forcing  it  under  the  iron-shod 
edges.  Engineers  and  workmen  can  now  go  down,  trim  the  earth 
level  under  the  edges,  and  finally  adjust  and  fix  the  mass  in  its 
exact  place,  supporting  it  uniformly  by  blocking  placed  under  its 
five  cross  partitions.  A  little  more  limestone  on  the  top,  and  the 
mass  has  become  practically  immovable,  and  the  work  of  sinking 
the  caisson  is  fairly  under  way. 


THE  CAISSON,  STARTED  ON  ITS  JOURNEY  DOWN. 


HOW  THE  CAISSON  SINKS. 

The  laborers  with  pick,  shovel,  and  barrow  feed  the  dredges 
with  the  mud  and  stones  they  dislodge.  When  the  earth  has  been 
sufficiently  removed,  the  workmen  drive  out  alternate  blockings 
from  under  the  partitions  on  which  the  mass  rests,  leaving  its 
weight  on  the  remaining  blocks,  which  slowly  settle  a  little  under 
the  load,  and  in  the  most  uniform  manner.  The  earth  is  levelled, 
and  the  blocks  before  removed  are  again  tightly  driven  in.  Then 
the  other  blocks,  the  first  time  untouched,  are  driven  out,  and  in 
the  whole  operation  the  caisson  has  gone  down  about  an  inch. 
The  weight  and  strength  of  the  caisson  and  its  load  are  so  enor- 


20 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


mous,  that  any  little  difference  in  the  density  of  the  cellar  bottom, 
or  in  the  driving  of  the  blockings,  is  irresistibly  equalized,  and  the 
mass  sinks  inch  by  inch  as  the  process  is  repeated,  plumb  down. 
Of  course,  care  is  perpetually  taken  that  no  bowlder  or  other  ob- 
struction be  left  under  the  descending  shoe  of  the  caisson's  edges, 
and  no  pains  are  spared  to  remove  any  cause  that  may  seem  to 
tend  to  deflect  the  perpendicularity  of  the  descending  mass. 

DIFFICULTIES. 

But  for  all  that,  the  work  is  anything  but  easy.  Often  the  ma- 
terial to  be  excavated  is  so  hard  and  compact  that  the  picks  and 
shovels  cannot  disintegrate  it,  and  steel  bars  specially  prepared 
have  to  be  driven  in,  and  small  portions  at  a  time  picked  off. 
Bowlders  turn  up,  in  the  most  unfortunate  places,  from  1  to  250 
cubic  feet  in  size,  sometimes  of  trap-rock,  sometimes  of  quartz  or 
gneiss,  sometimes  of  sandstone.  Men  constantly  probe  under 
water  with  iron  rods  to  find  these  hidden  obstructions,  to  prevent 
the  caisson  settling  on  them  to  its  possible  injury,  and  to  the 
certainly  increased  difficulty  of  their  removal  under  its  weight. 
Sometimes  even  winches  and  hydraulic  jacks  are  ineffectual  to 
remove  the  stones  from  under  the  edges  and  the  partitions.  Bowl- 
ders have  to  be  undermined  and  rolled  into  the  caisson,  and  there 
separated  by  drills  and  wredges.  At  first,  owing  to  various  such 
difficulties,  the  caisson  settled  only  six  inches  in  a  week — a  rate 
which  would  have  taken  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  to  sink  the 
Brooklyn  caisson,  and  about  three  years  for  the  New  York  one. 
And  the  wear  and  tear  of  tools  is  enormous. 


BLASTING. 

Can  powder  be  used  in  blasting?  There  is  no  previous  experi- 
ence. What  will  be  the  effect  of  concussions  on  the  ear?  Will 
they  rupture  the  tympanum  ?  Will  the  smoke  become  suffocating  ? 
Will  not  the  concussions  break  the  valves  and  doors  in  the  air- 


THE  CAISSON. 


21 


locks,  let  out  the  air,  and  admit  the  water  ?  Who  knows  ?  The 
experiment  is  made,  beginning  with  the  firing  of  a  pistol,  trying 
light  blasts  and  then  heavy  ones,  but  with  none  of  the  dreaded  re- 
sults. So  blasting  becomes  a  part  of  the  programme,  holes  being 
sometimes  drilled  completely  through  bowlders  under  the  edge, 
the  charge  inserted  at  the  bottom,  and  they  loosened  or  thrown 
into  the  caisson.  At  these  explosions  the  workmen  easily  step 
from  that  compartment  into  another  of  the  six.  The  work  goes 
on  day  and  night,  by  relays  of  men  called  "  shifts"  working  eight 
hours  each.  They  are  provided  with  dressing  and  eating  rooms 
above  ground,  and  every  means  used  to  secure  their  health  and 
comfort,  and  to  push  on  the  work. 

THE  CAISSON  DISEASE. 

For,  with  all  the  discomforts  and  exposures  of  working  and 
blasting  so  far  under  water  and  the  ever-present  dread  of  submer- 
sion, another  great  danger  arises  from  living  in  the  compressed 
air — the  danger  of  the  "  caisson  disease."  In  the  Brooklyn  caisson 
the  highest  pressure  was  23  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  besides  the 
normal  atmospheric  pressure.  In  the  New  York  caisson  at  one 
time  the  pressure  was  34  pounds.  The  symptoms  of  this  caisson 
disease  are  cramps  and  severe  pain  in  the  joints,  paralysis,  and 
sometimes  death.  On  entering  a  caisson  through  an  air-lock  under 
high  pressure  a  severe  pain  in  the  ear  is  usually  felt  till  the  pres- 
sure is  equalized.  To  some  the  pain  is  insupportable,  while  others 
are  hardly  inconvenienced.  Putting  fingers  or  cotton  in  the  ears  is 
unavailing. 

A  HINT  OF  THE  DISEASE. 

Any  boy  or  man  in  the  bathing  season,  who  can  swim,  may 
easily  find  what  this  "  caisson  disease"  is  like.  Turn  over  a  heavy 
boat  in  deep  water,  dive,  and  come  up  head  under  the  boat.  How 
your  ear  begins  to  sing,  and  how  unpleasant  the  sensation  is  I 
Now  try  to  shout  aloud,  and  see  how  hard  it  is  to  make  your  voice 


22 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


heard,  and  how  unearthly  it  sounds.  That  is  a  hint  of  the  state 
of  the  atmosphere  in  a  caisson,  bearing  a  resemblance  to  the  real 
thing  such  as  a  twinge  in  the  toe  bears  to  well-developed  gout,  or 
a  chance  cough  to  settled  influenza. 

A  WEIRD  SCENE. 

"  Inside  the  caisson,"  says  Mr.  E.  F.  Farrington,  the  master- 
mechanic  of  the  Bridge,  "everything  wore  an  unreal,  weird  ap- 
pearance. There  was  a  confused  sensation  in  the  head,  like  '  the 
rush  of  many  waters.'  The  pulse  was  at  first  accelerated,  and 
then  sometimes  fell  below  the  normal  standard.  The  voice  sound- 
ed faint  and  unnatural,  and  it  required  a  great  effort  to  speak. 
What  with  the  flaming  lights,  the  deep  shadows,  the  confusing 
noise  of  hammers,  drills,  and  chains,  the  half-naked  forms  flitting 
about,  with  here  and  there  a  Sisyphus  rolling  his  stone,  one  might, 
if  of  a  poetic  temperament,  get  a  realizing  sense  of  Dante's  In- 
ferno. One  thing  to  me  was  noticeable — time  passed  quickly  in 
the  caisson/'  It  was  no  place  for  men  subject  to  heart  or  lung 
disease,  or  enfeebled  by  age  or  intemperance.  But  a  man  of  good 
health  and  physique,  with  sound  head,  heart,  and  lungs,  temperate 
in  all  things,  and  observing  a  few  simple  rules,  had  no  difficulty  in 
working  under  a  pressure  of  30  or  40  pounds. 

LIGHTING  THE  CAISSON. 

The  lighting  of  the  caisson  was  a  work  of  no  little  difficulty, 
and  the  subject  of  many  experiments.  Calcium-lights,  coal-gas 
lamps  and  candies  were  tried.  The  calcium-lights  worked  well, 
but  were  costly.  Oil-lamps  smoked,  and  were  dangerous.  Candles 
were  all  along  used  more  or  less.  The  regular  gas  from  the  street 
mains  worked  best  of  all,  though  it  increased  the  temperature  about 
fifteen  degrees.  Of  course  the  usual  street  pressure  was  not 
enough  at  that  depth,  and  had  to  be  increased.  And  there  was 
constant  danger  of  explosion  from  leakage,  wThich  under  the  high 


THE  CAISSON. 


23 


pressure  the  sense  of  smell  did  not  detect.  Fourteen  calcium-lights 
and  sixty  burners  were  put  in,  but  they  were  not  all  used  at  the 
same  time.    How  Edison,  or  one  of  his  kind,  was  needed ! 

ACCIDENTS. 

Such  a  work  as  the  sinking  of  a  caisson  could  hardly  be  expected 
to  be  accomplished  without  accidents.  The  body  of  compressed 
air  was  always  trying  to  escape.  Before  the  caisson  became  firmly 
fixed,  it  was  liable  to  tilt  a  little  and  thus  set  free  a  portion  of 
the  confined  air,  which  in  its  escape  would  send  up  a  large  co- 
lumn of  water  thirty  to  sixty  feet  high,  flooding  a  part  of  the 
top  and  stampeding  the  workmen.  But  they  had  due  warning 
in  a  roaring  noise  which  accompanied  the  rise  of  the  water. 
Inside  the  caisson  the  roaring  was  heard,  and  with  it  came  a 
draught  of  air  toward  the  place  of  escape.  Sometimes  the  wave 
of  a  passing  steamer  would  disturb  the  equilibrium,  and  cause 
a  "  blow-out."  Now  and  then  a  workman  caught  a  fish  thrown 
up  in  the  column  of  water. 

"SEALING"  THE  WATER-SHAFTS. 

As  the  caisson  slowly  sunk  to  its  destined  bed,  this  cause  of  dis- 
turbance disappeared.  The  mass  could  no  longer  be  tilted.  But 
the  added  pound  of  air-pressure  for  every  two  feet  of  tide-water 
incessantly  pushed  to  get  out.  The  "  sealing  "  of  the  bottoms  of 
the  water-shafts,  into  which  the  debris  was  thrown  ready  for  the 
grasping  fingers  of  the  dredge,  had  to  be  kept  up  by  means  of  hose, 
and  dams  to  be  maintained  about  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  to  keep 
the  pool  high  enough  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  compressed  air,  and 
these  dams  were  liable  to  be  washed  away  by  a  change  of  pressure. 
Sometimes  the  bottom  was  so  hard  that  a  dredge  could  not  keep  its 
well-hole  deep  enough.  Then  the  dredge  was  withdrawn,  an  iron 
cap  bolted  on  the  top  of  the  shaft,  and  heavy  stones  piled  on  until 
the  weight  was  enough  to  resist  the  air-pressure.    Compressed  air 


24 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


was  forced  between  the  cap  on  the  top  of  the  shaft  and  the  water 
under  it,  the  water  driven  downward  into  the  caisson,  and  the 
well-hole  pumped  or  bailed  out,  and  deepened.  When  this  was 
done,  water  was  re-admitted,  and  the  dredge  set  at  work  again. 
While  one  shaft  was  thus  "  laid-up,"  the  other  kept  at  work.  Over 
and  over  again  this  happened. 

A  GREAT  "BLOW-OUT." 

One  unfortunate  Sunday  morning,  a  neglect  on  the  part  of  the 
watchman  inside  the  caisson  allowed  the  air  to  blow  out,  creating 
a  panic  and  stampede  above  ground,  and  flinging  over  buildings 
and  shipping  a  coat  of  yellow  mud.  The  weight  of  the  caisson  at 
this  time  was  nearly  18,000  tons.  The  noise  was  terrific,  and  mud 
and  stones  flew  to  a  great  height.  People  near  the  Ferry  fled  away 
from  the  supposed  danger,  and  those  farther  off  rushed  down  street 
to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The  whole  mass,  caisson  and  masonry, 
settled  ten  inches,  the  shoe  was  crushed  in  places,  and  the  center 
of  the  roof  settled  about  four  inches. 


FIRE  ! 

The  Brooklyn  caisson  caught  fire  several  times,  and  twice  the 
interior  had  to  be  flooded  with  water  to  extinguish  it.  The  last 
fire  was  discovered  December  2,  1870.  A  laborer  had  carelessly 
placed  a  lighted  candle  near  a  joint  in  the  roof,  whence  the  flame 
was  drawn  in  contact  with  the  oaken  calking  of  a  timber  joint. 
This  kindled,  and  under  the  great  pressure  the  fire  made  its  way 
into  the  interior  out  of  sight.  The  pressure  being  outward,  no 
smoke  or  flame  inside  revealed  the  presence  of  danger.  How  long 
it  had  been  burning  cannot  be  told.  It  was  discovered  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  large  hole  directly  over  one  of  the  supporting  parti- 
tions and  near  an  opening  from  one  chamber  to  another.  Carbonic- 
acid  gas,  water  and  steam  were  applied  hour  after  hour,  till  water 
flowed  back  into  the  caisson,  but  auger-holes  into  the  roof  showed 


THE  CAISSON. 


25 


that  the  lire  was  still  burning,  and  there  was  no  alternative  but  to 
flood  the  caisson.  The  caisson  was  too  deep  to  be  filled  by  the  pre- 
vious method  of  reducing  the  air-pressure  and  admitting  the  sea- 
water  under  the  shoe.  A  general  alarm  was  sounded,  the  fire  de- 
partment came,  and  in  a  little  while  thirty-eight  streams  of  water 
were  running  into  the  mouths  of  the  shafts,  in  addition  to  the  water 
flowing  from  the  pipes  used  in  the  caisson.  In  five  hours  and  a 
half  the  caisson  was  filled,  and  the  water  poured  out  of  it  from  the 
mouths  of  the  shafts.  The  air-pressure  was  gradually  reduced  as 
the  water  flowed  in,  so  that  the  sustaining  power  of  the  water  re- 
placed that  of  the  air,  so  as  to  prevent  straining  or  injury.  Under 
the  heavy  weight  of  stone,  any  carelessness  here  might  have  resulted 
in  permanent  injury  to  the  tower. 


COL.  ROEBLING  PARTIALLY  PARALYZED. 

While  this  danger  was  imminent  Col.  Hoebling,  the  engineer, 
was  first  partially  paralyzed  by  the  caisson  disease.  He  was  inside 
from  10  p.m.  till  5  a.m.,  and  returned  at  9  a.m.  From  this  at- 
tack he  never  has  recovered,  and  probably  never  will.  But  his 
directing  mind  was  not  paralyzed,  and  even  from  his  sick-room  his 
oversight  has  never  flagged. 

THREE  MONTHS  LOST. 

After  thus  flooding  the  caisson  the  water  was  left  in  it  two  days  and 
a  half  and  was  then  forced  out  of  the  water-shafts  by  air-pressure 
in  six  hours.  Nearly  three  months  were  consumed  in  making  re- 
pairs, the  work  going  on  night  and  day.  First  of  all,  liquid  cement 
had  to  be  injected  into  the  burned  openings  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  air,  partly  by  air-pressure  and  partly  by  a  stuffing-machine  made 
for  the  occasion.  Then  large  openings  had  to  be  cut  through  two 
and  three  courses  of  solid  timber  to  get  at  the  burned  portions  and 
make  the  necessary  repairs.  These  timbers  had  to  be  bored  across 
and  split  with  bars  and  wedges,  and  all  burned  pieces  as  well  as  in- 


26 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


jected  cement  had  to  be  taken  out,  and  the  cavities  scraped  clean. 
What  a  job  of  dentistry  ! — the  cavity  worm-eaten  by  the  erratic 
wandering  of  the  fire  over  a  space  of  fifty  feet  square.  Then  came 
the  plugging :  done  where  possible  with  timber  strapped  and  bolted, 
and  in  the  smaller  places  with  concrete,  made  of  cement,  sand  and 
gravel.  The  workmen  had  to  crawl  and  work  in  all  sort  of  uncom- 
fortable positions,  lighted  by  little  bull's-eye  lanterns,  in  an  air  full 
of  coal  and  cement  dust  and  smoke.  But  at  the  end  of  the  three 
months,  all  the  difficulties  were  surmounted,  and  the  roof  of  the 
caisson  as  strong  as  ever,  perhaps  even  stronger. 

COST  OF  THE  ACCIDENT. 

After  this  experience  with  the  Brooklyn  caisson,  that  for  the 
Xew  York  tower  was  built  so  that  there  was  no  calking  that 
could  again  open  the  way  for  a  similar  disaster.  It  was  lined 
throughout  with  thin  boiler-plate  iron.  The  tire  had  cost  $15,000, 
and  the  lining  of  the  New  York  caisson  cost  $20,000. 

THE   BROOKLYN  FOUNDATIONS  FINISHED. 

The  bed  on  the  Brooklyn  side  being  a  tenacious  conglomerate 
of  clay,  sand  and  bowlders,  reaching  far  down,  at  forty-four  and  a 
half  feet  below  high-water  mark,  the  Brooklyn  caisson  was  allowed 
to  make  its  final  halt.  Under  its  lid  seventy-two  brick  piers,  each 
about  five  feet  square,  were  erected,  and  the  caisson  rested  on  them 
as  the  temporary  wooden  supporting  partitions  were  removed,  and 
the  air-pressure  withdrawn.  Then  the  whole  interior  was  filled  in 
with  concrete  and  the  broken  stone  formerly  sent  up  from  under 
the  caisson.  This  was  most  carefully  done,  beginning  around  the 
shoes  and  working  inwards,  in  layers  six  to  eight  inches  thick,  and 
each  allowed  to  harden  before  the  next  was  put  on,  the  air-locks 
being  filled  last  of  all.  The  water-shafts  were  cut  square  with  the 
roof  inside  the  caisson,  and  all  the  braces  of  the  supporting  frames 
removed.   When  the  caisson  was  filled  up  to  the  ground-level,  the 


THE  CAISSON. 


27 


cofferdams  around  the  different  shafts  removed,  and  the  air-locks 
taken  off,  the  foundations  were  solid  and  permanent,  ready  for  the 
weight  of  the  tower  and  cables,  with  their  load. 

THEIR  ASSURED  SAFETY. 

So  that  the  towers  of  the  Bridge  rest  at  bottom  on  courses  of 
solid  yellow  pine,  and  under  them  brick  pillars.  Will  not  the 
wood  decay  ?  Experience  shows  that  wood  when  thus  sunk  beyond 
reach  of  air  and  changes  of  temperature,  is  perfectly  incorruptible. 
Oxygen  is  the  great  decomposer  or  destroyer.  But  as  these  tim- 
bers are  placed,  it  cannot  use  its  teeth,  and  the  wooden  lid  of  the 
Saratoga  trunk  may  be  trusted  to  remain  sound  and  intact  as  long 
as  wanted.  The  sea-worms  were  kept  away  by  an  unbroken  sheet 
of  tin  outside :  and  below  the  bottom  of  the  channel  they  do  not 
pierce.    The  foundations  are  safe. 

THE  NEW  YORK  CAISSON. 

On  the  New  York  side  the  caisson  had  to  be  sunk  to  a  much 
greater  depth  than  the  first : — to  78-J-  feet  below  high -water  mark, 
to  the  underlying  rock.  It  was  of  the  same  width,  102  feet,  as  its 
sister,  but  four  feet  longer.  172  feet.  Its  lid  was  made  twenty-two 
feet  thick,  while  the  other  was  only  fifteen.  A  greater  air-pressure 
was  required  for  the  greater  depth,  and  thirteen  compressors  were 
used  in  New  York,  though  never  all  at  once.  The  work  of  exca- 
vating in  New  York  was  not  so  hard,  but  much  more  disagreeable. 
The  first  layer  was  sewage  and  sewage  mud — inodorous  under 
water,  but  when  excavated  under  low  pressure  in  the  caisson — 
faugh!  Next  came  clean  gravel,  and  sand,  with  an  occasional 
bowlder, — much  of  the  sand  so  fine  as  to  be  forced  out  through  iron 
pipes  by  air-pressure. 

A  COFFERDAM. 

Here  a  cofferdam  was  necessary  to  give  buoyancy  and  steadiness 
to  the  caisson,  which  required  seven  courses  of  masonry  to  hold  it 


28 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


on  the  bottom  at  high  tide.  It  commenced  on  the  fifteenth  course 
of  the  caisson  roof-timber,  and  was  made  with  foot-square  yellow- 
pine  posts  set  four  feet  apart  and  sheathed  with  six-inch  white- 
pine  plank,  calked  to  keep  out  the  water,  and  braced.  Concrete 
was  put  between  this  cofferdam  and  the  sides  of  the  caisson,  and 
the  roof  concreted  three  feet  to  keep  off  the  worms.  Into  this 
filling  excavated  sand  was  blown  as  wanted,  the  pipes  discharging 
against  granite  blocks  placed  above  them,  the  sand  striking  these 
and  falling  back.  Sand  was  also  loaded  into  scows,  an  elbow 
changing  the  current  into  the  scow,  the  elbows  lasting  only  a  short 
time.  The  foot  of  a  pipe  reached  into  the  caisson,  and  a  valve 
regulated  the  draft.  Ten  or  a  dozen  men  could  not  shovel  in  as 
fast  as  the  current  would  draw  out. 


THE  LEDGE  UNDER  MANHATTAN  ISLAND. 

When  the  New  York  caisson  made  its  final  halt,  it  was  near  the 
ledge  which  runs  under  Manhattan  Island.  Jagged  points  of  rock 
lifted  here  and  there,  and  it  was  "  salted  with  quicksand."  The 
ledges  of  rock  under  the  southerly  end  were  leveled  off,  a  wall  of 
concrete  outside  the  shoe  shut  in  the  quicksand,  the  inside  of  the 
caisson  was  filled  with  concrete  as  in  Brooklyn,  and  the  New  York 
tower  also  rested  on  a  firm  and  permanent  base. 


THE  TOWERS. 


29 


THE  TOWERS, 


The  remainder  of  the  tower-building  is  all  above  ground — 
some  of  it  certainly  a  long  way  above  ground — and  comparatively 
simple.  In  each  tower  course  after  course  is  laid  up  to  the  level 
of  the  flooring  of  the  future  bridge,  119  feet  above  high-water 
mark.    Just  below  this  level  heavy  bars  of  iron  are  inserted  in  the 


7%  Screw 

!      1      1     1      1  1 

TOP  OF  TOWER,  SHOWING  SADDLES  AND  CONNECTIONS. 


masonry  from  face  to  face  of  each  tower,  with  great  eves  formed  in 
their  ends  at  each  corner  of  the  tower,  to  hold  one  end  of  the 
floor-braces.  Here  the  tower  divides  into  three  piers,  leaving  be- 
tween them  two  openings,  each  of  33  feet  9  inches.  The  three 
piers  join  again  into  one  tower,  leaving  these  openings  117  feet 
high  to  the  tops  of  the  arches  over  them.  Across  each  opening, 
at  the  spring  of  the  arch,  run  four  heavy  iron  rods  or  bars  at- 


30 


NEW  5TORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


tached  to  eyes  in  either  wall,  and  their  length  adjusted  by  screws, 
parallel  to  each  other  in  a  horizontal  plane,  for  the  further  strength- 
ening of  the  tower  under  its  enormous  load.  Up  again  rises  the 
solid  tower  nearly  40  feet  above  the  arches.  Near  the  top  heavy 
iron  bars  run  across  the  towers  through  the  masonry,  furnished 
with  eyes  at  each  end  to  receive  the  tops  of  the  suspension  braces. 

THE  SADDLE  PLATES 

Above  these  each  tower  receives  four  sets  of  iron  bed-plates  or 
"saddles,"  one  for  each  cable,  resting  each  on  its  "saddle-plate." 
Each  saddle-plate  is  a  casting  16  feet  2  inches  by  8  feet,  and  sup- 
ports one  of  the  saddles  on  which  the  cables  rest.  Each  is  fur- 
nished with  a  broad  groove  in  which  the  saddle-rollers  are  con- 
fined. They  are  placed  on  each  tower,  two  over  the  centre  pier, 
and  one  over  each  outer  pier. 

THE  SADDLES. 

The  saddles  are  13  feet  long  by  4  feet  1  inch  wide,  and  4  feet  3 
inches  in  extreme  height.  They  lie  lengthwise  under  the  cables, 
resting  each  on  a  series  of  wrought-iron  rollers,  running  in  .the 
broad  groove  of  the  saddle-plate.  The  top  of  each  saddle  is  curved 
to  give  an  easy  bearing  for  the  cable,  which  is  to  lie  in  a  groove  17 
inches  deep  and  19J  inches  wide.  This  arrangement  relieves  the 
towers  themselves  from  direct  straining  or  chafing  of  the  cables 
under  unequal  loads,  high  winds,  and  changes  of  temperature 
during  which  the  cables  will  lengthen  and  shorten.  Above  the 
saddle-plates  the  tower  rises  again  5  feet,  so  that  the  saddles  and 
saddle-plate  may  be  covered  from  the  weather,  and  yet  be  easily 
accessible. 

GOOD  HEAD  AND  HAND  WORK. 

With  what  talent  and  skill  all  this  work  has  been  planned  and 
watched,  and  with  what  care  and  faithfulness  it  has  been  done,  let 
the  completed  towers  testify.    In  the  New  York  tower  there  are 


THE  TOWERS. 


31 


nearly  47,000  cubic  feet  of  masonry,  and  in  the  Brooklyn  one 
more  than  38,000  cubic  feet.  And  yet  neither  of  them,  one  350 
feet,  and  the  other  316  feet  from  base  to  peak,  has  settled  two 
inches ! 

WHAT  NEXT  1 

Now,  the  two  towers  standing  high  in  air,  ready  to  receive  the 
cables  and  the  roadway,  what  is  the  next  point  of  interest  ?  A 
suspension-bridge  is  made  up  of  towers  or  piers  to  lift  and  carry 
the  cables,  anchorages,  or  fastenings  for  the  cables  at  either  end, 
and  the  suspended  superstructure.  We  have  taken  the  towers  first  in 
order,  as  they  were  first  in  the  order  of  time.  But  neither  towers 
nor  anchorages  are  of  any  use,  either  without  the  other,  and  they 
will  all  be  needed  at  the  same  time,  when  cable-making  begins. 
And  the  anchorages  are  ready  when  the  towers  are.  Let  us  go 
back  to  them. 


32 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


THE  ANCHORAGES. 

Each  end  of  each  cable  must  be  fastened  so  securely  that  the 
weight  of  cable  and  superstructure,  together  with  all  that  can  by 
any  possibility  be  piled  upon  the  roadway,  and  all  violence  of  the 
wind,  shall  be  unable  to  start  the  fastening  a  hair.  And  over  even 
all  this  there  must  be  the  amplest  margin  for  security.  Some- 
times there  are  rock  foundations  to  which  the  cable  can  be  at- 
tached, as  there  will  be  in  the  projected  "  Storm  King"  bridge  over 
the  Hudson.  But  here  the  lack  of  such  natural  rock  must  be  arti- 
ficially supplied.  This  is  done  in  the  two  anchorages,  each  of 
which  is  a  mass  of  stone  129  by  119  feet  at  base,  117  by  104  at  top, 
85  feet  high  in  front,  and  80  feet  in  rear.  What  it  is  most  wanted 
for  is  its  weight ;  and  this  is  60,000  tons,  or  about  120,000,000 
pounds.  The  top  of  each  also  forms  a  part  of  the  approaches 
which  on  either  shore  end  upon  the  anchorages. 

FOUNDATION  OF  THE  BROOKLYN  ANCHORAGE. 

The  masonry  of  the  Brooklyn  anchorage  rests  on  three  courses 
of  yellow-pine  timber,  one  foot  square,  the  same  size  as  comprise 
the  roof  of  the  caissons.  The  soil  here  is  sand  and  gravel  entirely. 
A  pit  a  little  larger  than  the  foundation  had  to  be  excavated,  and 
the  tides  held  back  by  heavily  supported  sheet  piling.  A  wire  rope 
was  run  from  the  roadway  of  the  tower  to  a  timber  in  the  ground 
250  feet  distant.  To  the  foot  of  the  incline  thus  made  the  sand- 
box was  drawn  from  the  excavation  and  hauled  up  by  steam  over 
the  sand  heap,  and  automatically  dumped.  This  sand  was  admir- 
ably adapted  for  building  purposes,  and  the  enormous  heap  thus 
formed  was  afterward  all  absorbed  in  the  masonry.    The  yellow- 


THE  ANCHORAGES. 


33 


pine  timber  made  an  even  foundation,  and  laid  as  it  is  below  the 
water-level,  amid  springs,  it  will  be  always  covered  and  satu- 
rated with  water,  and  cannot  decay. 

FOUNDATIONS  OF  NEW  YORK  ANCHORAGE. 

But  in  Xew  York  the  anchorage  "  ground  "  lay  in  the  outskirts 
of  "the  Swamp."  The  water  flowed  in  so  fast  that  it  took  three 
steam-pumps  to  expel  it,  working  a  whole  month  at  the  rate  of  600 
gallons  a  minute — more  than  86,000  gallons  a  day.  The  original 
surface  shelved  outward.  Under  the  solid  foundations  of  the  de- 
molished buildings  an  old  dock  was  found,  showing  where  the 
water-line  once  was,  and  that  over  all  this  neighborhood  the  tide 
then  freely  ebbed  and  flowed.  And  before  a  trustworthy  bottom 
could  be  reached,  quantities  of  black,  unwholesome  mud  and 
refuse  of  old  tan-pits  had  to  be  taken  out  of  the  way.  But  here, 
as  on  the  other  side,  the  anchorage  foundation  was  at  last  ready. 

THE  ANCHOR  PLATES. 

At  the  bottom  of  each  anchorage,  in  the  rear,  on  the  York  Street 
side  in  Brooklyn,  and  on  the  Cherry  Street  side  in  Xew  York, 
firmly  imbedded  in  the  masonry,  are  the  four  anchor-plates.  These 
are  of  cast-iron,  oval  in  shape,  16  feet  by  17  feet  6  inches,  not 
solid,  but  with  radiating  arms,  2  feet  6  inches  through  the  centre. 
They  weigh  23  tons  each.  If  they  were  solid,  the  weight  would 
be  greatly  increased,  but  hardly  the  strength.  The  weight  of  the 
masonry  is  upon  them,  and  their  office  is  merely  to  spread  out 
their  fingers  and  clutch  under  the  ponderosity  of  the  whole  mass. 
Through  the  centre  of  each  plate  are  two  tiers  of  oblong  openings 
to  receive  the  two  lower  sets  of  anchor-bars.  These  go  through 
the  plates,  and  are  secured  beneath  by  round  wrought-iron  pins, 
five  inches  thick,  which  pass  through  holes  in  the  end  of  the  bars. 

3 


34 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


THE  ANCHOR  BARS. 

The  anchor-bars  are  of  wrought-irop,  each  strand  needing  a  chain 
of  them.  There  are  19  strands  in  each  cable,  so  there  are  19  sets  of 
anchor-bars,  each  chain  being  12  bars  linked  together.  The  lower 
bars,  nearest  the  anchor-plate,  are  3x7  inches,  and  as  they  reach 
ii]) ward  and  outward  to  the  cable  the  size  increases  to  3x9  inches. 
Their  average  length  is  12  feet.  So  that  between  the  cable  and 
its  anchor-plate  are  these  19  chains,  each  120  feet  long,  linked  by 
wrought-iron  bolts  increasing  from  5  inches  thick  at  the  anchor- 
plates  where  the  pull  is  least,  to  7  inches  at  the  outer  ends  where 
the  cables  are  attached  and  the  pull  is  greatest. 

THE  OUTER  BARS  END  IN  TWO  FINGERS. 

The  outer  link  of  each  of  these  chains  is  made  double,  each  of 
half  thickness ;  so  that  two  bars,  each  1-|  inch  thick,  hold  each  one 
of  the  19  strands  which  form  the  cable.  These  double  bars  are 
the  longest  of  the  chain.  The  ends  of  all  bars  are  made  round? 
and  nearly  of  double  width,  and  holes  drilled  in  them  to  receive  the 
connecting-pins.  The  chains  are  laid  in  two  series,  one  over  the 
other,  ten  in  the  lower  series  and  nine  in  the  upper.  The  con- 
necting-pins are  turned  shafts  of  wrought-iron,  and  are  five  feet 
long,  a  whole  series  of  bars  being  pinned  together  at  the  end  of 
their  links.  The  higher  or  outer  series  rests  at  the  joints  on  the 
inner  or  lower  series,  and  cast-iron  plates  are  laid  between  the  two 
to  give  them  an  even  bearing.  These  joints  or  knuckles  rest  on 
granite,  not  limestone. 

THE  CHAIN  BEGUN. 

The  anchor-plates  being  laid  at  the  bottom  of  the  anchorage,  the 
two  rows  of  links  or  anchor-bars,  19  in  all,  are  sunk  through  the 
openings  in  the  anchor-plates,  put  in  exact  line,  and  the  five  feet 
long  wrought-iron  pins  or  bolts  passed  through  each  line.  Then 
they  are  braced  in  an  upright  position,  and  the  mason-work  is  built 


THE  ANCHORAGES. 


35 


up  around  them  over  the  whole  anchorage.  Next,  the  second  set 
of  parallel  links  are  set  in  place,  their  eyes  brought  again  in  line 
with  the  eyes  of  the  first  set,  and  the  next  pair  of  heavy  bolts 
passed  through,  the  cast-iron  plate  having  been  first  introduced  be- 
tween the  joint  of  the  two  series.  These  also  are  held  upright,  and 
the  mason-work  again  laid  over  the  whole  129x119  feet.  Then 
come  the  next  set,  adjusted  in  the  same  way,  except  that  they  are 
made  to  incline  slightly  forward  toward  the  river,  and  again  the 
mason-work  incloses  them.    The  succeeding  sets  of  19  links  each 


AN  ANCHORAGE. 


incline  further  and  further  forward,  until  the  ninth  set  lie  hori- 
zontal almost  on  the  top  of  the  anchorage ;  and  the  tenth,  the  bi- 
furcated set,  extend  their  38  fingers  straight  forward,  ready  to  clasp 
and  hold,  each  pair  of  them,  one  of  the  19  strands  which  make  the 
cable.  Thus  the  19  strands  of  each  cable  hold  to  the  concealed 
anchor-plate  at  each  end  through  the  masonry  by  11  links;  and  the 
number  of  links  in  the  two  anchorages  is  1672,  held  in  place  by 
192  of  the  forged  5  feet  long  bolts. 


36 


NEW  YOKK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


CABLE-MAKING. 

COME,  CABLE! 

These  foremost  links  of  the  chain  from  the  anchor-bars  fall  short 
of  the  front  of  the  anchorage  about  25  feet.  Their  open  fingers 
beckon  the  cable  to  meet  them  there.  Between  each  pair  of  fingers 
they  hold  a  "  shoe"  of  cast-iron,  with  a  groove  in  its  circumference 
to  fit  the  strand.  By  and  by  the  cable  will  respond,  and  find  a 
permanent  fastening  in  the  sheltering  masonry. 

TOWERS  AND  ANCHORAGES. 

Now,  what  have  we  got  ?  Two  massive  anchorages,  facing  each 
other  from  opposite  shores,  and  two  towers  rising  between,  high  in 
air.  The  first  are  ready  to  take  and  securely  hold  the  cable  ends, 
and  the  latter  equally  ready  to  hold  up  the  weight  of  the  cables 
and  whatever  they  may  carry,  over  the  saddle-plates.  For  the 
weight  of  the  Bridge  that  is  to  be  must  not  pull  the  towers  inward, 
but  must  merely  rest  on  them  while  held  by  the  solid  fastenings 
of  its  ends. 

GETTING  READY  FOR  CABLE-MAKING. 

But  where  are  the  cables  ?  Where  is  any  one  of  the  four  we 
need  ?  They  are  to  be  made  in  the  air.  We  have  finished  our 
work  under  the  tides,  and  now  have  an  even  more  delicate  task 
before  us,  and  one  that  must  be  performed  at  a  dizzy  height.  But 
first  of  all  connection  must  be  made  between  the  anchorages  over 
the  towers.  Before  cable-making  can  begin,  19  temporary  galvan- 
ized steel  wire  ropes  have  to  be  stretched  across  from  anchorage  to 
anchorage. 


CABLE-MAKING. 


37 


THE  FIRST  ROPE  ACROSS. 

The  first  of  these  ropes  was  taken  across  Aug.  14,  1876.  On  a 
scow  carrying  a  wooden  axle  in  a  frame,  was  coiled  a  three-quarter- 
inch  wire  rope.  From  the  foot  of  the  Brooklyn  tower  one  end  of 
the  rope  was  hoisted  over  the  top  of  the  tower,  and  lowered  down 
its  inner  face.  A  manilla  rope  leading  from  an  engine  on  the  anchor- 
age was  made  fast  to  the  wire  rope,  and  by  this  means  its  end  was 
drawn  to  the  anchorage,  and  temporarily  fastened  there.  Next, 
the  scow  was  towed  over  to  New  York,  the  wire  uncoiling  and 
dropping  to  the  river  bottom.  At  the  New  York  dock  the  re- 
mainder of  the  rope  was  unreeled,  the  end  hoisted  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  carried  over,  let  down  the  other  side,  and  fastened  to  the 
drum  of  an  engine  used  for  hoisting  stone.  When  the  river  was 
clear,  the  engine  was  started,  and  the  rope  was  lifted  from  the 
water  to  about  the  height  of  the  roadway.  Then  another  rope  was 
taken  over  in  the  same  way.  The  two  ropes  were  stayed  on  the 
New  York  tower,  and  the  ends  taken  to  the  New  York  anchorage. 
At  each  anchorage  the  ends  were  now  spliced  together  around  the 
guiding  and  driving  wheels.  In  this  way  an  endless  rope  was 
formed,  capable  of  being  worked  back  and  forth,  to  draw  and  carry 
loads,  running  on  cast-iron  sheaves  oh  the  saddles  at  the  tower  tops. 
Another  endless  traveller  was  made  of  two  other  ropes  carried  over 
on  the  first. 

MR.  FARRINGTON  FIRST  OVER. 

The  first  traveler-ropes  were  spliced  and  put  in  running  order 
August  25,  1876.  Mr.  E.  F.  Farrington,  the  master-mechanic, 
was  the  first  to  cross  the  river.  A  boatswain's  chair — a  board  slung 
at  the  four  corners  by  ropes  uniting  in  a  ring  overhead — was  at- 
tached to  the  traveler  at  the  Brooklyn  anchorage,  and  Mr.  Far- 
rington took  his  place  in  it  at  1  o'clock  p.m.  on  that  day,  and  was 
drawn  across  to  New  York,  his  chair  being  lifted  over  the  towers ; 
the  time  from  anchorage  to  anchorage,  22  minutes.  Thousands 


CABLE-MAKING. 


39 


of  people  witnessed  the  transit,  and  public  attention  was  wonder- 
ingly  fixed  on  the  exploit.  But  the  story  that  the  ovation  he 
received  was  a  surprise  to  Mr.  Farrington,  needs  modifying  by  the 
fact  that  the  crossing  was  known  to  "reporters"  and  announced 
in  advance,  and  the  time  and  direction  taken  directed  by  President 
Murphy. 

OTHER  ROPES. 

Other  ropes  needed  in  construction  were,  a  carrier,  lj-inch 
diameter ;  3  cradle  ropes,  each  2J-inch  diameter ;  2  foot-bridge 
cables,  each  2J-inch  diameter ;  and  several  other  smaller  ropes,  but 
each  in  its  place  indispensable  to  the  work.  The  carrier  was  taken 
over  in  the  same  way  as  the  first  traveller,  through  the  water,  and 
the  remaining  ropes  were  mostly  drawn  across  on  it.  A  "  buggy," 
a  small  swing-stage  4  feet  square,  ran  on  the  carrier  as  the  boat- 
swain's chair  did  on  the  traveler.  An  oak  timber  10  feet  long  by 
6x8  inches  was  held  by  stirrup-bolts  on  the  carrier,  close  to  the 
water-face  of  the  Brooklyn  tower,  and  a  large  cast-iron  grooved 
sheave  hung  from  this,  into  and  through  which  the  larger  tempo- 
rary cables  were  hoisted  by  leading  manilla  ropes  worked  by  an 
engine.  While  a  hauling  rope  from  New  York  pulled  the  end 
across,  the  Brooklyn  engine  helped  haul  the  rope  up  from  the 
coil.  As  the  end  came  over,  it  was  passed  through  hangers  on  the 
carrier.  At  New  York  it  was  secured  to  an  iron  anchor  in  the 
masonry.  The  Brooklyn  end  was  meanwhile  carried  over  the 
tower  to  the  anchorage,  and  there  strained  up  till  the  hangers 
were  relieved  of  its  weight,  when  they  were  taken  off  by  men  in 
buggies.  Over  the  towers  the  cables  ran  on  oak  wheels  six  inches 
thick  and  three  feet  diameter.  After  the  hangers  were  removed, 
the  cables  were  still  further  tightened  till  they  reached  the  right 
deflection  over  the  middle  of  the  river,  then  lifted  out  of  the  oak 
wheels,  and  firmly  fastened.  The  five  large  cables  were  laid  across 
in  this  manner.  The  others  came  on  the  traveler  or  on  the  foot- 
bridge. 


40 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


THE  FOOT-BRIDGE. 

This  foot-bridge  was  indispensable  in  the  work  of  laying  cables 
such  as  support  the  Brooklyn  Bridge.  Its  floor  was  laid  on,  not 
under,  its  special  cables,  and  was  made  of  slats  four  feet  long  by 
3x1^  inches,  laid  2  inches  apart,  and  clamped  to  the  cables  by  half- 
inch  stirrup-bolts.  On  either  side  a  f-inch  wire  rope  became  a 
handrail.  Thus  an  unbroken  pathway  4  feet  wide  was  laid  from 
anchorage  to  anchorage,  passing  over  the  tops  of  the  towers,  and 
deflecting  towards  the  middle  of  each  of  the  three  spans.  The 
situation  was  an  airy  one,  and  in  a  breezy  neighborhood.  The 
draught  came  not  only  over  the  sides  but  through  the  floor,  whose 
cracks  were  more  than  half  as  wide  as  its  boards.  This  "  porous- 
ness" gave  the  wind  less  hold,  and  reduced  oscillation.  Not  only 
was  it  of  daily  use  to  the  men  at  work — Mr.  Farrington  crossed  it 
fourteen  times  in  one  day — but  this  opportunity  for  a  unique 
semi-celestial  walk  attracted  multitudes,  who  asked  and  got  the  pri- 
vilege of  going  over  it  from  city  to  city  during  the  many  months 
it  hung  in  air.  Seldom  did  the  seeking  eye  in  daylight  fail  to  dis- 
cern pleasure-passengers  traversing  its  slats,  looking  in  the  aerial 
distance  like  erect  ants.  Even  there  the  eye  could  almost  always 
distinguish  the  fluttering  robes  of  the  gentler  sex  mingling  with 
the  garments  of  the  sterner. 

THE  CRADLES. 

And  this  suggests  the  "  cradles."  These  were  wooden  platforms 
four  feet  wide  and  more  than  forty  feet  long,  placed  in  pairs,  end 
to  end,  and  fastened  together,  so  as  to  make  a  continuous  platform 
four  feet  wide  and  more  than  eighty  feet  long,  reaching  across  all 
the  cables,  and  with  substantial  oak  railings  around  them.  There 
were  five  pair  of  these,  one  between  each  anchorage  and  its  tower, 
and  the  other  three  in  the  main  span,  placed  substantially  as  quar- 
ter, half  and  three-quarter  poles.  The  foot-bridge  passed  through 
one  end  of  each  of  the  five  pair,  and  their  flooring,  like  that  of 


CABLE- MAKING. 


41 


the  foot-bridge,  was  thoroughly  "  ventilated."  These  cradles  were 
put  together  on  the  ground  and  hoisted  to  the  tower  top  by  der- 
ricks, whence  they  were  slid  on  the  cradle  cables  to  their  respective 
positions  and  fastened  there.  This,  before  the  floor  of  the  foot- 
bridge was  laid. 

THEIR  USES. 

The  primary  use  of  these  cradles  was  to  furnish  a  place  where 
men  might  stand  and  control  and  regulate  the  wires  as  they  were 
run  over  to  form  the  strands  of  the  prospective  cables.  They  also 
carried  iron  sheaves  to  support  the  travelers,  each  of  which  was 
supported  at  seven  points,  namely,  five  cradles  and  two  towers  in 
its  path  either  way  across  the  river.  So  arranged,  the  transit  from 
anchorage  to  anchorage  became  much  more  steady  than,  if  not  as 
thrilling  as,  that  Mr.  Farrington  took  amid  such  wide-spread  excite- 
ment. 

THE  GREAT  CABLES. 

And  now  comes  the  work  to  which  all  these  travelers,  and  carriers, 
and  cradles,  and  buggies,  and  foot-bridge  are  subordinate  and  pre- 
paratory :  the  formation  of  the  cables.  And  what  is  a  cable  ?  It 
seems  a  simple  name,  and  suggests  the  connection  between  a  ship 
and  her  anchor.  But  there  are  cables  and  cables.  Those  here  to 
be  made,  are  unique,  and  uniquely  made.  Each  of  the  four  weighs 
nearly  900  tons,  and  is  made  of  19  separate  '''strands,"  each  3578^ 
feet  long.  But  what  is  one  of  these  19  strands  1 

THE  STRANDS. 

Each  strand  contains  278  wires,  or  rather,  to  make  one  strand,  a 
continuous  wire  runs  back  and  forth  from  end  to  end  of  the  strand, 
the  round  trip  being  made  139  times.  At  each  turn  at  the  Brook- 
lyn or  the  Xew  York  anchorage  this  wire  goes  round  the  groove 
in  a  "shoe"  of  cast  iron  held  in  the  open  fingers  of  the  bifurcated 
anchor-bar,  as  before  described.    Thus  passing  back  and  forth  278 


42 


NEW  FORK  AM)  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


times  the  3578^  feet,  the  wire  is  more  than  a  million  feet,  a  little 
under  200  miles,  in  length. 

THE  SHOE. 

This  "  shoe,"  around  which  the  wire  of  a  strand  is  made  to  pass 
and  repass  so  many  times,  and  which  at  last  holds  the  end  of  the 
strand  bolted  between  the  open  lingers  of  the  last  anchor-bar,  is  21 
inches  long,  IT  wide,  and  4  thick.  There  is  a  slotted  opening 
through  its  flat  to  receive  the  pin,  which  finally  holds  it.  A  cast- 
ing called  a  "leg,"  11  feet  back  from  the  ends  of  the  anchor-bars, 
holds  this  shoe  while  the  strand  is  winding. 

THE  WIRE. 

The  wire  used  in  the  strands  is  of  steel,  galvanized,  No.  7  size, 
a  little  over  an  eighth  of  an  inch  through,  and  the  machinery  for 
making  it  into  cables  was  set  up  on  the  Brooklyn  anchorage.  'Here 
the  wire  was  delivered.  It  received  one  coat  of  linseed  oil  and 
two  of  boiled  oil,  mixed  with  a  little  powdered  rosin  and  litharge, 
each  thoroughly  dried  before  the  next. 

"  DRUMMING  UP." 

But  the  coils  of  wire  must  be  made  into  a  continuous  line,  and 
wound  so  as  to  be  readily  unwound  when  the  strand  comes  to  be 
made.  Wooden  drums,  8  feet  outside  diameter,  16-inch  face  and 
flanges  to  hold  6  inches  depth,  each  with  a  capacity  of  about 
40,000  feet  of  wire,  were  hung  in  upright  wooden  frames.  There 
were  32  of  these,  8  for  each  cable.  Spoke-handles  were  used  to 
wind  the  wire  on  from  the  coils,  and  brakes  to  regulate  the  speed 
when  run  out.  The  reels  were  set  behind  the  drums,  and  between 
each  drum  and  reel  a  man  was  placed  to  guide  the  wire  as  it  passed 
upon  the  drum,  through  a  piece  of  oiled  sheepskin  held  in  his  hand, 
thus  giving  it  another  coating  of  linseed  oil — the  last  it  was  to  get 
in  its  "individual  capacity," that  is,  as  a  single  wire. 


CABLE-MAKING. 


43 


SPLICING. 

When  the  end  of  the  wire  in  a  coil  was  reached,  that  and  the 
first  end  of  the  wire  from  another  coil  were  spliced.  A  right-hand 
thread  was  cut  on  one  wire  and  a  left-hand  thread  on  the  other, 
and  corresponding  threads  in  a  coupling  or  sleeve,  which  was  then 
screwed  on  till  the  ends  overlapped  each  other.    This  made  the 


SPLICING — SLEEVE,  WIRE-ENDS,  WITH  RIGHT  AND  EEFT  THREADS,  AND  SPLICE 

COMPLETED. 

coils  into  a  continuous  wire,  and  prevented  their  unscrewing 
and  falling  apart,  when  the  unwinding  gave  them  a  rotary  motion. 
The  joints  thus  made  were  galvanized  in  melted  zinc.  So  the  end 
of  the  wire  from  one  drum  was  firmly  fastened  to  the  beginning  of 
the  wire  from  the  next ;  and  any  accidental  parting  of  the  wire  in 
any  stage  of  the  succeeding  processes  was  prevented. 

THE  GUIDE  WIRE. 

The  strands  were  made  at  an  elevation  much  higher  than  the 
place  of  the  completed  cable.  The  wind  here  was  less  liable  to 
disturb  than  below,  and  the  greater  strain  on  the  wire  was  likely  to 
disclose  any  imperfection.  For  this  purpose,  the  shoe  around 
which  the  wire  was  to  pass  was  set  back  the  eleven  feet  from  the 
bolt  between  the  fingers  of  the  anchor-bars,  which  was  finally  to 
pass  through  it,  as  before  described.  The  wires  of  each  cable  were 
regulated  by  a  separate  wire  called  the  guide-wire.  The  length  of 
this  was  first  determined  while  hanging  at  the  deflection  the  cable 
would  be  left  at.    It  was  then  drawn  back  an  equal  distance  on 


44  NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 

each  anchorage  till  it  reached  the  height  at  which  the  strands  were 
to  be  made,  and  held  there  till  the  first  few  wires  of  a  strand  were 
regulated  by  it,  when  it  was  laid  aside  till  wanted  to  set  another 
strand  by. 

THE  TKAVELING  SHEAVE. 

The  wires  were  carried  across  the  river  on  what  was  called  a 
"  traveling  sheave."  A  light  wooden  wheel,  of  5  feet  diameter, 
with  a  galvanized  sheet-iron  rim  shaped  like  a  Y,  turned  easily  on 
a  spindle  attached  to  a  bar  of  iron,  whose  upper  end  was  crooked 
like  a  "  goose-neck."  This  crooked  end  was  lashed  to  the  traveler- 
rope,  and  the  lower  end  carried  a  cast-iron  balance- weight.  This 
goose-neck  enabled  the  traveling  sheave  to  pass  over  the  supporting 
sheaves  which  kept  up  the  traveler-rope  at  the  towers  and  cradles, 
without  slackening  speed.  The  end  of  a  wire  from  a  drum  was 
made  fast  to  the  "  leg"  on  the  anchorage,  the  bight  put  around  in 
the  groove  of  the  wheel,  and  the  traveler  was  set  in  motion,  thus 
unwinding  the  wire  from  the  drum.  When  the  traveling  sheave 
carrying  the  bight  of  a  wire  reached  the  New  York  anchorage, 
there  were  two  wires  added  to  a  strand,  one  attached  to  the 
"  leg,"  and  the  other  that  between  the  traveling  sheave  and 
the  drum.  The  wire  unwound  two  feet  in  length  from  the  drum 
for  every  foot  traversed  by  the  traveling  sheave.  As  one  traveling 
sheave  went  across  with  its  bight  of  wire,  another  sheave,  lashed  to 
the  opposite  part  of  the  traveler-rope,  returned  empty.  And 
when  the  278  wires  had  all  been  stretched  across,  the  wire  was 
cut,  and  its  end  spliced  to  its  beginning,  that  first  fastened  to  the 
"  leg." 

"REGULATING"  THE  WIRE. 

Men  had  perpetually  and  carefully  to  watch  every  part  of  the 
winding.  When  the  traveling  sheave  passed  the  first  tower, 
a  regulators"  there  seized  it  with  nippers  and  a  tackle,  and  hauled 
in  until  the  regulator  in  the  cradle  between  the  tower  and  the  an- 
chorage signaled  that  it  was  in  line  with  the  guide- wire.    So  again 


CABLE-MAKING. 


45 


the  wire  was  regulated  in  the  main  span,  and  again  on  the  New 
York  land  span,  the  wire  having  first  been  placed  around  the  shoe. 
So  back  to  Brooklyn  in  reverse  order.  Care  was  taken  that  the  two 
sides  of  a  strand  should  be  kept  entirely  separate  throughout  their 
whole  length. 

WRAPPING  THE  STRAND. 

This  gigantic  skein,  not  of  thread  but  of  wire,  wound  around 
the  shoes  at  the  ends  two  thirds  of  a  mile  apart,  as  thread  around 
the  outstretched  human  hands,  has  now  to  be  wrapped  to  give  it 
unity  and  make  of  its  278  single  wires  one  strand,  weighing  nearly 
50  tons.  The  skein  is  wrapped,  at  intervals  of  28  inches,  with  a 
half-dozen  turns  of  No.  14  galvanized  iron  wire,  to  keep  its  threads 
in  place  till  the  final  wrapping  of  the  completed  cable.  This  is 
done  by  men  in  buggies.  A  most  plentiful  coating  of  linseed-oil 
is  also  applied. 

"LETTING  OFF." 

Then  the  strand  has  to  be  lowered  to  its  final  rest.  The  shoes, 
which  were  put  11  feet  back  of  their  place,  are  turned  from  the 
flat  position  in  which  they  received  the  turns  of  the  skein  to  the 


SECTION  OF  CABLE  BEFORE  THE  STRAND  FORMATIONS  WERE  DESTROYED,  AND 
NUMBERED  TO  SHOW  THE  ORDER  IN  WHICH  THEY  WERE  PUT  IN  PLACE  IN 
THE  SADDLES. 

perpendicular  position  in  which  they  are  to  lie  between  the  fingers 
of  the  anchor-bars,  and  gradually  let  forward.  The  iron  rollers 
which  support  the  strand  above  the  saddles  are  removed,  and  the 


40 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


strand  lowered  to  its  normal  place  in  the  saddle.  The  strands  have 
been  made  a  little  long,  and  they  are  taken  up  to  the  exact  length 
by  a  cast-iron  segment  laid  between  their  bight  and  the  anchor-bar 
pin.  At  the  temporary  height  the  strain  on  a  strand  is  rated  at  75 
tons.    One  third  of  this  strain  is  taken  off  by  the  lowering. 

TEMPORARY  CENTRAL  CABLE. 

When  twelve  strands  are  thus  finished,  seven  of  the  central  ones 
are  clamped  together  into  a  temporary  nine-inch  cable.  The  dia- 
gram shows  the  order  in  which  the  different  strands  are  laid  in  the 
saddles,  and  how  the  seven  could  not  be  clamped  together  until  the 
twelve  were  finished.  The  first  strand  lashings  are  taken  off,  and 
new  wrappings,  inches  wide,  are  put  on  at  ten  inches  intervals. 
The  object  of  this  wrapping,  as  of  the  previous  one,  is  to  assist  in 
bringing  the  wires  more  compactly  together  in  the  completed 
cables. 

A  STRAND  BREAKS  LOOSE. 

A  whole  strand  was  lost  by  an  accident  June  14,  1878.  A  wire 
rope  in  the  machinery  for  letting  off  gave  way,  and  the  strand 
sprang  into  the  river,  killing  two  men  and  injuring  three.  Its 
cause  was  unknown,  as  those  who  might  have  explained,  instantly 
perished.  If  the  strand  had  struck  across  a  ferry-boat  it  would 
have  caused  a  terrible  disaster.  But  happily  the  damage  was  con- 
fined to  the  loss  of  the  men  alluded  to  and  of  the  strand.  The 
strand  was  cut  into  lengths  of  400  feet,  and  fished  up  from  the 
bottom  of  the  river. 

DESTROYING  THE  STRAND  FORMATION. 

When  all  the  19  strands  of  a  cable  had  been  formed,  regulated, 
and  lowered,  the  work  of  clamping  and  final  wrapping  began. 
Wooden  clamps  were  put  on  the  whole  length  of  the  cables,  100 
feet  apart,  and  wire  wrappings  between  the  clamps.  The  wrap- 
ping began  at  the  towers  and  was  carried  on  each  way  from  them 


CABLE-MAKING. 


47 


at  the  same  time.  A  wrapping  buggy,  12  by  8  feet,  like  the  smaller 
ones  in  all  but  size,  suspended  from  the  cable,  held  and  carried  the 
men  and  tools  for  wrapping.  The  earlier  wrappings  were  cut  off 
for  a  few  feet  ahead.  The  linseed-oil  put  on  when  the  strands  were 
wrapped  helped  keep  the  wires  together,  and  there  was  no  percep- 
tible enlargement  of  the  mass.  Next,  squeezers  were  bolted  around 
the  cables.  They  were  made  in  halves  to  closely  fit  the  cable,  and 
compressed  by  long  vertical  bolts.  Two  men  with  long  wrenches 
on  the  squeezer  bolts,  another  sometimes  with  a  small  tackle,  and 
much  pounding  with  wooden  mallets,  completely  broke  up  the  old 
strand  formations,  and  compressed  the  5282  now  separated  wires 
into  one  complete  round  cable, 

WRAPPING. 

Next  the  wrapping-machines  were  put  at  work.  Each  consist- 
ed of  a  cast-iron  jacket  one  foot  long  in  two  halves  bolted  together 
around  the  cable  behind  the  squeezer,  fitting  closely  on  the  wires 
next  the  towers,  but  flaring  a  little  toward  the  other  end,  that 
the  wires  might  be  more  easily  gathered  into  it.  On  this  jacket 
revolved  a  reel,  furnished  with  wooden  handles,  carrying  the  wrap- 
ping wire,  which  as  the  reel  turned  was  closely  and  hardly  wound 
around  the  cable,  the  whole  machine  being  forced  along  the  dis- 
tance of  the  wire's  thickness  at  every  revolution  of  the  reel.  The 
cable-wire  received  a  coat  of  oil  in  front  of  the  wrapper,  and  the 
wrapper  was  painted  with  white  lead  and  oil.  When  the  wire  from 
a  reel  was  gone,  that  from  another  was  spliced  on,  and  the  joint 
swaged  and  galvanized.  Sometimes,  where  couplings  in  the  cable- 
wires  were  thick,  the  hands  could  not  force  the  reel  over  the  spot, 
and  had  to  be  assisted  by  pulleys  and  weights.  The  wrapping  of 
20  feet  a  day  was  ^ood  work  for  a  machine,  and  two  machines 
needed  ten  men. 


WRAPPING  THE  CABLE. 


CABLE-MAKING. 


49 


CABLES  FINISHED. 

At  last  the  four  completed  cables  hang  gracefully  in  their  three 
loops,  passing  from  anchorage  to  anchorage  over  the  towers,  and 
ready  for  the  burden  allotted  them,  and  to  serve  as  a  pathway  when 
needed,  for  which  purpose  each  cable  has  a  wire-rope  handrail  on 
either  side.  As  the  shining  threads  hang  high  in  air,  they  seem 
as  natural  and  inevitable  as  if  they  had  grown  there  in  the  usual 
course,  and  give  no  hint  of  the  slow  and  painful  labor  that  has 
marked  every  inch  of  height  from  nearly  80  feet  under  ground  to 
nearly  280  feet  above  it — a  line  up  and  down  of  more  than  350 
feet.  The  passenger  over  the  river  can  hardly  remember  that 
they  were  not  always  so,  or  imagine  how  the  familiar  watery  high- 
way would  appear  without  them. 

HANGING  THE  ROADWAY. 

How  shall  the  roadway  be  hung  from  the  cables  ?  First,  sus- 
pender-bands are  to  be  put  on  the  cables :  from  them  by  means  of 
sockets  are  to  depend  wire  ropes  holding  at  their  lower  end  other 
sockets ;  these  sockets  hold  the  floor-beams ;  and  the  floor-beams 
hold  the  planking. 

SUSPENDER-BANDS  AND  SOCKETS. 

The  suspender-bands  are  of  wrought  iron,  Ave  inches  wide  and 
five  eighths  of  an  inch  thick.  Thev  huff  the  cables,  and  below  ter- 
minate  in  two  lugs  seven  eighths  of  an  inch  thick.  Men  in  the  bug- 
gies with  little  forges  heat  the  backs  of  the  bands  till  they  can  be 
spread  around  the  cable,  keeping  a  thin  plate  of  iron  between  the 
heated  part  and  the  cable  till  it  cools,  that  the  galvanizing  of  the 
cable  may  not  be  disturbed.  An  iron  screwbolt  If  inch  in  diame- 
ter, put  through  the  lugs  and  tightened,  holds  the  suspender-sock- 
ets. These  sockets  are  made  like  a  fire-bucket  with  a  large  bail 
and  a  thick  bottom.    Through  this  bottom  is  a  hole  to  receive  the 

suspender-rope,  only  just  large  enough  at  the  lower  side  to  receive 
4 


50 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


the  rope,  but  flaring  to  nearly  twice  that  size  at  the  top.  Through 
this  hole  is  put  the  end  of  the  rope,  its  strands  and  wires  are 
opened  and  spread  apart,  round  taper  pins  driven  into  the  inter- 
stices, the  ends  of  the  wire  turned  over  the  pins,  and  all  filled  and 
covered  with  melted  lead,  which  keeps  out  water  and  binds  the 
pins  and  wires  in  place. 

SUSPENDER-ROPES,  SOCKETS  AND  STIRRUP-RODS. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  suspender-ropes  another  socket  is  fastened 
in  the  same  way,  made  of  cast  iron,  and  with  a  hole  each  side  of 
the  suspender-rope  to  receive  the  stirrup-rods,  which  hold  the  floor- 
beams.  These  stirrup-rods  terminate  in  long  screws,  by  which  the 
floor- beams  can  be  adjusted  to  the  proper  height,  as  the  suspender- 
wires  cannot  be  cut  and  fastened  with  the  needed  exactitude. 

FLOOR  BEAMS. 

The  steel  floor-beams  are  85  feet  long,  made  and  hung  in  two 
parts,  and  riveted  together  by  plates  over  the  center  joints.  They 
are  32  inches  deep  and  9f  inches  wide.  Each  beam  has  two  top 
and  two  bottom  chords  formed  of  steel  channel- bars,  tied  and  braced 
together  in  the  form  of  a  triangular  lattice  girder.  They  are  hung  7 
feet  6  inches  from  center  to  center,  and  between  each  pair  of  prin- 
cipal beams  a  lighter  I-beam  is  placed,  so  that  the  floor-planking  is 
held  and  fastened  every  3  feet  9  inches  from  centers.  Wooden 
bridging  between  the  beams  resists  the  strain  of  the  over-floor  stays. 

LAYING  THE  FLOOR. 

The  first  part  of  the  flooring  to  be  put  in  place  is  that  through 
the  towers — 59  feet  in  each.  This  of  course  is  solidly  fastened  to 
the  masonry.  Then,  either  edge  being  reached,  the  nearest  sus- 
pender-ropes with  their  stirrups  are  swung  into  the  tower,  and  the 
half  section  of  floor-beam  put  in.  swung  out,  fastened  in  place, 
ready  to  hold  planks  from  which  the  workmen  may  launch  and  fix 


CABLE-MAKING. 


51 


the  next  beams ;  and  so  on,  each  way  from  each  tower.  When  the 
other  section  of  floor-beams  are  out,  the  two  are  bolted  together. 

CABLES  BELOW  THE  ROADWAY. 

But  the  cables  enter  the  inner  face  of  each  anchorages  below  :he 
top  ;  and  for  260  feet  from  the  anchorages  the  floor  rests  on  the  top 
of  the  cables,  being  supported  on  wrought-iron  posts  resting  on 
cast-iron  steps  clamped  to  the  cables.  And  in  the  main  span,  the 
cradles  reaching  down  and  the  roadway  climbing  up  at  the  cen- 
ter and  for  some  distance  each  side,  the  cable  falls  below  the  road- 
way and  supports  it  in  the  same  manner  as  near  the  anchorages. 
So  each  way  from  the  towers  the  cable  and  the  roadway  converge, 
the  suspender-ropes  are  shorter  and  shorter  till  "  the  dog  gets  ahead 
of  the  wolf,"  and  the  posts  begin  and  lengthen  till  the  cable  again 
begins  to  rise. 

THE  SUSPENDER-STAYS. 

But  the  cables  are  not  the  only  supporters  of  the  roadway. 
Fastened  to  the  ends  of  the  iron  beams  running  from  face  to  face 
through  each  tower,  near  its  top,  another  set  of  suspender  ropes  or 
stays  diverge,  the  lirst  reaching  to  a  point  in  the  roadway  15  feet 
from  the  tower,  the  next  15  feet  further,  and  so  for  150  feet  each 
way  from  each  tower.  These  ropes  or  braces  would  themselves 
nearly  or  quite  support  the  whole  roadway,  with  no  help  from  the 
cables.  They  make,  with  the  perpendicular  suspender-ropes,  an 
unique  appearance — the  latter  at  equal  distances  and  all  parallel ; 
the  former  like  the  frame  of  a  fan,  or  the  radii  of  a  circle  cut  off  un- 
timely by  the  suspended  roadway. 

THE  LONGITUDINAL  TRUSSES. 

From  anchorage  to  anchorage  of  the  great  Bridge,  stretch  in  un- 
broken continuity  six  lines  of  steel  trusses.  Firmly  bolted  together 
and  to  the  masonry  of  the  towers  and  anchorages,  they  become  an- 
other element  of  vast  strength  to  the  structure.    It  is  estimated 


52 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


that  for  an  hundred  feet  each  way  from  the  towers  these  trusses  are 
of  themselves  strong  enough,  without  help  from  stays  or  from 
cables,  to  carry  all  the  weight  that  may  come  upon  them. 

PREVENTION  OF  LATERAL  MOVEMENT. 

Another  ingenious  device  helps  to  give  great  solidity  and  stiff- 
ness to  the  suspended  structure.  The  two  inside  cables  pass  over 
the  central  pier  very  near  together,  but  are  drawn  out  as  they  de- 
scend, till  where  they  pass  through  and  under  the  flooring  they  are 
at  the  extreme  outer  edges  of  the  footway  on  both  sides,  and  the 
outer  cables  are  correspondingly  drawn  inward.  At  three  places, 
each  side  of  each  tower,  the  outer  cable  and  the  inner  one  next  it 
on  each  side  are  drawn  together,  nearer  and  nearer  as  they  are  far- 
ther from  the  towers.  This  is  done  by  heavy  wire  ropes  ;  and  be- 
tween the  two  inner  cables  the  same  result  is  assured  by  a  stiff  iron 
beam  or  bar,  pushing  in  the  same  direction  as  the  others  pull. 
The  suspender-ropes  do  not  descend  plumb  down,  but  are  drawn 
inward,  each  pair  towards  their  own  half  of  the  Bridge.  This  holds 
the  Bridge  with  the  greatest  firmness  against  lateral  pressure. 

THE  LATERAL  BRACES. 

From  the  eyes  built  in  at  each  corner  of  the  towers,  just  below 
the  roadway,  run  heavy  floor-braces  under  the  structure,  diverging 
more  and  more  from  the  tower  laterally  as  the  suspender-stays  do 
longitudinally.  They  are  fastened  to  the  side  of  the  roadway  op- 
posite that  corner  of  the  tower  from  which  they  start,  and  thus 
present  a  firm  resistance  against  any  tendency  of  the  structure  to 
swing  sideways.  Beyond  the  spots  where  these  braces  hold  at  one 
end  on  the  towers,  the  diagonal  braces  are  still  continued,  holding 
from  opposite  sides  of  the  Bridge. 

UNIVERSAL  STANCHNESS. 

So  that  the  Bridge  is  held  in  its  normal  place  from  anchorage 
to  anchorage,  by  the  cables,  by  the  suspender-braces,  and  by  the 


CABLE-MAKING. 


53 


longitudinal  trusses,  acting  up  and  down ;  and  braced  across  by  the 
inward  pull  of  the  suspender-ropes,  and  the  lateral  braces.  And  the 
heavy  bolting  of  the  trusses  in  every  direction  adds  another  element 
to  the  strength  and  stanchness  which  make  the  structure  seem,  not 
•a  bridge,  but  a  street. 


TH£  PATHWAYS  OX  THE  BRIDGE 


55 


THE  PATHWAYS  ON  THE  BRIDGE. 

THE  FOOTWAY. 

The  longitudinal  trusses  divide  the  Bridge  into  five  parts  or  sec- 
tions, averaging  about  sixteen  feet  in  width.  In  the  center  is  the 
promenade  or  footwalk,  its  pathway  raised  a  dozen  feet  more  or 
less  above  the  flooring  of  the  Bridge,  safely  railed  on  either  hand, 
and  by  its  height  thus  affording  the  pedestrian  a  view  on  both 
sides  which  lie  could  not  otherwise  get.  When  it  reaches  either 
tower,  which  is  a  solid  pier  between  its  two  openings  where  the 
promenade  would  pass  in  a  straight  line,  it  passes  by  stairs  to  a 
railed  platform  still  higher  which  extends  all  around  the  pier, 
through  the  openings  above  the  railway  .and  down  again  the  other 
side  to  its  first  level.  As  the  promenade  approaches  either  ter- 
minus it  descends  to  the  level  of  the  roadway  proper,  so  that 
pedestrians  enter  it  directly  from  the  street  and  on  its  level.  The 
promenade  on  the  two  approaches  is  built  solid  and  covered  with 
concrete.  On  the  suspension-bridge  proper,  that  is,  on  the  two  land 
spans  and  the  main  span,  the  floor  is  of  plank,  laid  lengthwise. 
The  space  underneath  this  promenade  is  occupied  by  telegraph- 
wires. 

THE  RAILWAY. 

Xext  the  promenade,  on  either  side,  is  a  section  for  the  cars  run 
under  the  Bridge  management,  from  end  to  end  by  an  endless  wire 
rope.  These  cars  will  be  commodious,  run  rapidly  and  frequently, 
and  be  propelled  by  an  engine  erected  near  the  Brooklyn  terminus. 
As  the  grade  of  the  Bridge  descends  its  3 J  feet  to  100  toward 
either  terminus,  the  railway  keeps  an  elevation  that  brings  it  out 
on  a  level  above  that  of  the  footway  and  of  the  driveway,  passen- 


50 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


gers  reaching  and  leaving  it  by  means  of  stairs.  But  the  railway 
future  of  the  Bridge  is  yet  to  be  developed.  Probably  the  boldest 
of  us  would  gasp  if  he  could  see  the  traffic  which  the  year  1903 
will  witness  upon  it. 

THE  DRIVEWAY. 

The  two  outside  sections  of  the  Bridge,  one  looking  down  toward 
Governor's  Island  and  the  harbor,  the  other  toward  Williamsburgh 
and  Long  Island  Sound,  are  each  18  feet  6  inches  wide,  and  de- 


SECTION  OF  BRIDGE,  SHOWING  DRIVEWAY,  RAILWAY  TRACKS,  AND  FOOTWAY. 


voted  to  vehicles.  The  inside  of  the  trusses  which  form  the  boun- 
daries of  this  drive  are  lined  with  heavy  protective  metal  slips 
crossed  lattice-wise,  which,  while  they  make  the  transit  safe,  do 
not  obstruct  the  eye,  and  offer  slight  resistance  to  the  wind,  which 
up  here  is  comparatively  unbroken.  Of  course,  the  driveways,  as 
well  as  the  promenade  between  them,  end  and  begin  on  the  street- 
level.  On  the  approaches,  the  driveways  are  paved  with  Guidet 
blocks,  and  on  the  suspension-bridge  proper  with  planking  laid 
crosswise.  A  few  Nicolson  blocks  of  wood  set  on  end  are  put  in 
as  an  experiment. 


THE  PATHWAYS  ON  THE  BRIDGE. 


57 


EXPANSION  JOINTS. 

Heat  and  cold  have  not  been  ignored  in  the  construction  of  the 
Bridge,  and  the  expansion  and  contraction  thej  irresistibly  create 
have  been  provided  for.  In  the  middle  of  each  land  span,  two  sets 
across  the  bridge  of  the  suspension-ropes  are  hung  almost  close  to- 
gether. The  inner  ends  of  the  trusses  they  carry  are  arranged  to 
slide  out  and  in  with  each  other,  the  suspender-ropes  carrying  all 
the  weight.  This  allows  the  spans  to  expand  under  heat,  and 
"to  recede  under  cold.  The  planking  of  the  footway  runs  length- 
wise, and  its  planks  stop  a  few  inches  short  of  each  other  at  these 
joints ;  and  over  them  and  a  couple  of  inches  up  from  them,  a  nar- 
row plank  is  fastened  across  the  gap,  at  right  angles  to  the  others. 
Similar  provision  is  made  in  the  driveway.  The  openings  in 
this  planking  through  which  the  suspender-ropes  pass  from  the  ca- 
bles to  the  floor-beams,  are  cut  into  longer  and  longer  ovals  as  they 
approach  either  way  the  expansion-joints,  to  allow  thus  for 
lengthening  and  shortening.  The  railway-track  allows  for  expan- 
sion and  contraction  in  the  usual  way.  The  same  arrangement  is 
repeated  midway  of  the  main  span,  which  is  here  above,  not  below, 
the  cable. 

ELECTRIC  LIGHTS. 

Along  the  boundary  on  either  side  between  the  driveway  and 
the  railway-track,  run  rows  of  United  States  electric  lights,  at  equal 
distances,  alternately  on  one  side  and  the  other,  high  enough  to 
light  the  promenade  in  the  center  of  the  Bridge,  as  well  as  its  two 
sides.  Over  each  light  is  a  reflector  throwing  its  rays  downward, 
and  protecting  it  from  the  weather.  From  terminus  to  terminus 
there  are  52  of  these.  Provision  is  also  made  for  the  escape  of  sur- 
plus water  on  the  approaches. 


58 


NEW   YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN,  AND  THEIR 
ENVIRONS. 

GROWTH^  NEW  YORK. 

New  York,  the  chief  commercial  city  of  the  United  States,  con- 
rains,  and  has  for  many  years  contained,  the  largest  population  of 
all.  Its  growth  since  1790,  when  the  first  Federal  census  was  taken, 
has  been  as  follows  :  * 


Year. 

Population. 

Rate  of  in- 
crease, p.  c. 

Year. 

Population. 

Rate  of  in- 
crease p.  c. 

1790 

33,131 

1840 

312,710 

59 

1800 

60,489 

83 

1850 

515,547 

65 

1810 

96,373 

60 

1860 

813,669 

58 

1820 

123,706 

29 

1870 

942,292 

16 

1830 

197,112 

60 

1880 

1,206,299 

28 

Over  150,000  of  the  increase  from  1870  to  1880  was  due  to  the 
annexation  of  the  southern  part  of  Westchester  County,  incorpor- 
ated in  New  York  City  after  the  Census  of  1870  was  taken.  The 
increase  from  1850  to  1880  was  690,752,  or  134  per  cent.  This  rate 
would  make  the  population  in  1910,  2,822,740. 


GROWTH  OF  BROOKLYN. 

Brooklyn  (originally  named  Breuckelen,  Brook-,  or  Marsh-landy 
after  the  ancient  village  of  the  same  name  in  Holland,  some  eigh- 
teen miles  from  Amsterdam)  now  ranks  as  the  third  city  in  the 
United  States.    Its  growth  since  1790  has  been  as  follows  : 


Year. 

Population. 

Rate  of  in- 
crease, p.c. 

Year. 

Population. 

Rate  of  in- 
crease, p.  c. 

1790 

Unknown. 

1840 

36,233 

137 

1800 

3,298 

1850 

96,850 

167 

1810 

4,402 

33 

1860 

266,661 

175 

1820 

7,545 

71 

1870 

396,099 

49 

1830 

15,292 

101 

1880 

566,663 

42 

NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN,  AND  THEIR  ENVIRONS.  59 


Part  of  the  increase  in  the  decade  preceding  1860  was  due  to 
the  incorporation  into  Brooklyn  of  the  present  "  Eastern  District," 
which  before  was  Williamsburgh,  etc.  The  increase  of  the  city 
from  1850  to  1880  was  469,813,  or  4S5  per  cent.  This  rate  of  in- 
crease would  make  the  population  in  1910,  3,314,978.  Long  before 
that  time  the  two  cities  will  be  united,  and,  following  the  ratio  of 
the  last  thirty  years,  with  a  poj^ation  of  6,137,718  souls  (if,  as 
Charles  Lamb  said,  you  count  a  soul  for  every  body). 

~  i  •  • 

THE  TONGUE  ON  WHICH  NEW  YORK  STANDS. 

Manhattan  Island,  on  which  New  York  City  proper  is  built,  is  a 
long  and  narrow  tongue  of  land  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the 
Hudson  River  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  on  the  north  by 
Harlem  River  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek.  This  tongue  contains 
about  22  square  miles,  or  14,000  acres,  and  is  13J  miles  long  with 
an  average  width  of  less  than  two  miles.  The  up-and-down  horse- 
car  lines  and  the  different  elevated  railroads  carry  an  enormous 
number  of  passengers  daily.  On  the  Third  Avenue  Elevated  road, 
trains  of  four  cars,  all  heavily  loaded,  follow  each  other  too  closely 
for  safety  during  the  hours  of  greatest  travel,  and  even  then  would- 
be  passengers  have  to  wait  train  after  train  to  get  on.  The  elevated 
roads  seem  to  have  provided  merely  for  the  normal  growth  of 
travel,  leaving  the  old  surface  roads  still  overflowing  with  business. 

MANY  NEW  YORKERS  MUST  LIVE  OUTSIDE  THE  CITY. 

Of  course,  as  New  York  grows  in  numbers,  a  constantly  increas- 
ing population  of  those  who  do  business  there  must  "  live"  away 
from  its  present  limits.  The  roads  running  north  into  Westchester 
County  accommodate  multitudes,  many  of  whom  find  homes  even 
farther  north  than  Westchester,  and  northeast  clear  into  Connecti- 
cut. These  cross  tide-water  on  drawbridges  over  the  Harlem 
River  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  from  seven  to  fourteen  miles 
north  of  the  City  Hall.    Other  multitudes  live  in  places  accessible 


60 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


by  steamboats,  which  run  in  various  directions,  enabling  many  to 
live  at  a  distance  of  30  and  more  miles  from  the  City  Hall  in  New 
York. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

But  the  great  mass  of  those  who  do  business  in  and  reside  away 
from  New  York  go  and  come  by  the  various  ferries.  The  Hud- 
son, on  the  west  side  of  Manhattan  Island,  separating  it  from  the 
Jersey  shore,  is  a  magnificent  river,  here  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
wide.  Across  it  many  ferries  ply,  carrying  passengers  who  live 
within  walking  or  horse-car  distance  of  home,  and  other  passengers 
to  whom  the  ferry  is  only  one  end  of  a  railroad  journey.  From 
different  points  on  the  Jersey  shore  these  railroads  radiate  like  fan- 
sticks,  from  the  roads  leading  through  Long  Branch  and  Ocean 
Grove,  due  south  from  New  York,  away  around  to  the  New  Y^ork, 
West  Shore  and  Buffalo,  running  a  little  east  of  north,  and  hugging 
the  Jersey  shore  under  the  Palisades.  Passengers  on  several  of 
these  railroads  go  west  from  the  river  through  tunnels,  cut  for 
more  than  a  mile  under  the  hill.  Each  working  day  there  go  and 
come  from  the  Jersey  ferries  almost  900  separate  trains,  on  nearly 
40  separate  lines  of  road.  To  and  from  Newark  there  run  300 
trains  daily,  on  five  different  roads.  But  the  long  ferry  journey 
must  be  taken  twice  a  day  by  each  passenger  between  New  York 
and  the  station  where  the  locomotive  takes  or  leaves  him.  To 
abridge  this  delay  and  simplify  the  journey  a  tunnel  is  now  being 
built  under  the  Hudson — an  enterprise  ranking  in  importance  and 
in  difficulty  with  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge. 

STATEN  ISLAND. 

Southwest  from  New  York  lies  Staten  Island,  its  nearest  or 
northwest  corner  about  six  miles  from  the  city,  the  route  being  over 
New  York  Bay.  One  line  of  ferry-boats  connect  New  York  with 
the  "  North  Shore,"  and  another  with  the  "  South,"  really  the  west 
ho  re.    Their  boats  land  a  very  few  miles  one  way  or  the  other 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN,  AND  THEIR  ENVIRONS.  61 


from  the  northwest  point  of  the  island,  leaving  residents  a  horse  or 
steam  ride  to  get  to  or  from  home.  The  island  is  about  13  miles 
long,  and  contains  58-J  square  miles,  or  more  than  twice  and  a  half 
the  area  of  Manhattan  Island.  The  census  of  1870  gave  it  a  popu- 
lation of  33,029  ;  that  of  1880,  of  38,991.  Manifestly,  under  pres- 
ent conditions,  the  overflow  of  New  York  is  not  going  to  seek 
Staten  Island. 

LONG  ISLAND  AHOY  ! 

To  the  eastward  of  New  York  City  stretches  out  100  miles,  to 
a  point  opposite  Stonington,  Conn.,  Long  Island,  with  an  extreme 
length  of  115  miles,  an  extreme  breadth  of  23  miles,  and  an  area  of 
1682  square  miles.  Its  western  end  extends  for  8  or  9  miles  op- 
posite New  York  and  as  many  more  south  of  it.  Against  its  south- 
ern and  eastern  line  rolls  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  against  its  northern 
Long  Island  Sound,  and  its  western  end  is  watered  by  New  York 
Bay  and  the  narrow  strait  which  connects  the  Bay  and  the  Sound, 
here  misnamed  the  East  River,  a  strait  for  considerable  distances 
only  a  little  more  than  half  a  mile  wide.  Opposite  the  most 
densely  populated  part  of  New  York  lies  Brooklyn.  As  over  the 
Hudson  River,  so  over  the  East  River  multitudes  of  ferries  ply. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  short  roads  running  to  different  Coney 
Island  beaches  and  to  Rockaway,  the  railroad  service  on  the  island 
belongs  to  one  company — the  Long  Island.  The  growth  of  Brooklyn 
shown  in  the  preceding  table  indicates  what  multitudes  have  found 
their  homes  near  the  water  within  its  limits.  Which  way  the  tide 
of  new  residences  most  strongly  sets,  to  Long  Island  or  to  New 
Jersey,  the  census  partially  tells.  New  Jersey,  in  the  path  of  all 
southern  and  a  great  deal  of  western  travel,  crossed  in  every  direc- 
tion by  multitudinous  lines  of  railroad  on  its  8320  square  miles  of 
territory,  increased  from  906,096  in  1870  to  1,131,116  in  1880— a 
gain  of  only  225,020,  or  about  25  p.  c.  Long  Island,  with  less 
than  400  miles  of  railroad  on  its  1680  square  miles,  all  belonging, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Coney  Island  roads,  to  one  lone  com- 


62  NEW  TORE  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 

puny,  is  not  on  any  "  through"  route,  and  her  travel  is  altogether 
her  own.  Yet  she  increased  from  544,190  in  1870  to  743,957 
in  1SS0 — a  gain  of  199,767,  or  more  than  36  p.  c.;  the  gain  of 
Kings  County,  which  lies  opposite  Xew  York,  being  nearly  43 
p.  c.  in  the  ten  years. 

THE  TRAVEL  OVER  THE  OLD  BROOKLYN  FERRIES. 

The  ferries  which  connect  New  York  and  old  Brooklyn,  or  the 
territory  bearing  that  name  before  the  incorporation  with  it  of  the 
Eastern  District,  all  belong  to  one  management — that  of  the  Union 
Ferry  Company.  These  ferries  are  five  in  number,  and  trans- 
ported during  the  12  years  ending  April  30,  1883,  532,198,514 
passengers,  an  average  for  the  12  years  of  44,349,876 — well  to- 
wards a  million  per  week.  The  increase  has  been,  years  ending 
April  30  : 


1871.  1883.         Increase;  Rate. 

Catherine  Ferry   5,180,421  I    6,980,272  [    1,799,851    35  p.  c. 


Fulton  "    20,573,797  22,127,953  1,554,156  7  p.  c. 

Hamilton  "    6,003,901  9,886,769  3,882,868  64  p.  c. 

South  "   I  4,587,839  7,123,368  2,535,529  55  p.  c. 

Wall  St.  "    4,982,635  5,246,524  263,889  5  p.  c. 


41,328,593    51,364,886    10,036,293    23  p.  c. 


FERRIAGE  DIFFICULTIES. 

It  goes  without  saying,  that  the  transportation  of  the  vast  mass 
of  humanity  and  freight  over  the  various  ferries  across  the  East 
River,  like  true  love,  does  not  always  run  smooth.  The  morning 
travel  to  Xew  York  is  Spread  over  much  more  time  than  the  return 
tide.  In  the  neighborhood  of  6  p.m.  the  pressure  is  enormous.  If 
the  elements  and  the  passengers  were  always  on  their  good  be- 
havior, the  problem  would  not  be  nearly  as  hard  as  it  actually  is. 
The  narrowness  of  the  strait  through  which  Atlantic  tides  must  ebb 
and  flow  twice  a  day  makes  their  current  strong  and  variable. 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN,  AND  THEIR  ENVIRON  63 


Only  a  little  while  four  times  a  day  is  the  tide  willing  a  boat  should 
take  a  straight  course  anywhere  across  its  current.  At  other  times  the 
boats  are  swept  up  or  down  as  that  current  flows  or  ebbs,  and  only 
skilful  pilotage  can  bring  them  in.  The  wind,  too,  conspires  with  the 
tide  to  upset  calculations.  Nor  is  the  <;  river"  itself  a  clear 
course  for  the  ferry-boats.  It  is  full  of  craft,  propelled  by  oar,  by 
sail,  by  steam,  or  towed.  Here  comes  a  great  ship  going  to  dry- 
dock,  a  small  steamer  each  side,  and  another  ahead.  Here  is  a 
large  tug  with  three  schooners  made  fast  each  side,  slowly  working 
towards  Hell-gate ;  and  here  are  fishing-smacks  under  sail  beating 
down  to  market,  and  needing  the  whole  stream  to  themselves. 
Here  comes  the  "  Maryland,"  the  boat  by  which  Gen.  Butler  cir- 
cumvented and  conquered  Baltimore  in  1861,  now  carrying  three 
rows  of  loaded  cars  on  the  through  Washington  line  that  evades 
New  York.  The  whistle  of  the  "Bristol"  or  the  "Providence"  booms 
out  once  or  twice  to  tell  you  whether  she  is  going  to  right  or  to 
left,  and  to  give  you  fair  warning  to  clear  the  track.  On  comes 
the  monster,  paying  as  much  attention  to  you  as  a  loaded  six-horse 
stage  in  the  White  Mountains  coming  down  along  hill  in  the  woods 
pays  to  the  one-horse  buggy  or  buck-board,  from  which  he  and  she 
descry  the  towering  mass  approach.  Then  comes  a  large  tow  be- 
hind an  insufficient  steamer  with  150  feet  of  line.  Here  are  three 
boats  filled  with  refuse,  100  feet  apart,  slowly  dragged  down  the 
Bay,  to  worse  than  waste  fertilizing  matter  that  ought  to  issue  in 
greater  produce  from  gardens,  orchards,  and  granaries.  Here  go  a 
couple  of  excursion  barges  packed  with  a  Sunday-school  or  other 
pic-nic,  towed  by  one  steamer  and  each  trailing  a  row-boat  carrying 
a  man.  Here  comes  a  little  steam  yacht,  and  there  a  great  one 
under  sail.  And  here  comes  a  huge  spar,  slowly  towed  by  a  man 
or  men  in  a  row-boat.  Last  week  a  vessel  was  stove  and  sunk 
there  in  the  channel.  At  low-water  you  can  see  the  top  of  her 
mast.  At  all  times  of  tide  keep  away  from  her.  That  dredging 
scow  is  anchored,  and  will  not  swing  against  you  unless  the  tide  is 
turning.    But  keep  away. 


64 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


THE  FOG. 

But  more  annoying  and  more  dangerous  still  are  the  fog  and 
the  ice.  A  dense  fog  shuts  off  the  view  of  the  opposite  end  of  the 
boat  perhaps,  and  the  other  side  of  the  river  is  as  invisible  in  broad 
daylight  as  the  good  time  coining  was  to  the  Lancashire  weaver. 
All  steering  must  be  by  the  sound  of  bells  ;  and  each  ferry  dares 
have  only  a  single  boat  out  at  once.  No  teams  allowed,  and  their 
places,  as  well  as  the  cabins,  are  occupied  with  a  mass  of  humanity 
packed  so  dense  that  its  units  can  hardly  move.  The  other  boat 
having  come  into  the  other  slip,  your  pilot  creeps  out,  steering  by 
the  regular  beats  of  the  particular  bell  he  knows  is  for  him.  As 
at  last  he  slowly  enters  the  slip,  the  other  boat  goes  out,  and  so  on. 

THE  ICE. 

Then,  again,  in  the  winter  great  fields  of  ice  form  in  the  inlets 
and  bays,  are  lifted  out  by  the  tide,  and  go  floating  up  and  down 
the  stream,  moving  with  the  ebb  and  flow.  Occasionally  the  cold 
fixes  them,  and  an  ice  block  ensues.  Ferry-boats  having  to  go  back 
and  forth  without  turning  cannot  use  screws,  but  must  move  by 
paddles,  around  which  the  ice  gathers,  and  which  pound  the  ice- 
blocks  as  they  revolve.  At  intervals  of  years  the  strait  has  been 
entirely  frozen  over,  so  that  during  a  part  of  one  tide  people  could 
cross.  These  delays  and  exposures,  so  vexatious  and  dangerous  to 
man  and  beast,  deter  many  a  family  which  would  otherwise  gladly 
live  in  Brooklyn.  Crowded  boats  have  been  on  the  water  more 
hours  between  New  York  and  Brooklyn  than  an  express  train  takes 
between  New  York  and  Boston.  It  speaks  wonderfully  for  the 
management  of  the  Brooklyn  ferries  that  no  great  accident  has 
ever  happened  to  these  crowded  boats ;  but  the  danger  is  always 
imminent  and  the  discomfort  ever  present  when  fog  or  ice  are  to 
be  encountered.  Pleasant  as  the  passage  of  the  river  generally  is, 
there  are  most  undeniable  drawbacks  from  which  ferry-boat  transit 
cannot  be  liberated. 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN,  AND  THEIR  ENVIRONS.  65 


THE  RELEASE. 

But  now,  over  the  water  stands  the  solid  Bridge,  offering  an 
uninterrupted  pathway  for  man  and  beast,  which  no  fog  or  ice,  no 
bewildering  currents,  no  snarl  of  boats,  no  river  or  ocean  leviathan, 
can  interfere  with.  While  the  eye  scans  the  crowded  water-way 
beneath,  the  elements,  before  so  disturbing,  take  their  places  as  part 
of  the  great  moving  panorama  spread  only  for  our  delight.  As  the 
guest,  safely  housed  in  the  warm  and  lighted  parlor,  sees  and  en- 
joys through  its  windows  the  driving  storm  from  which  he  has  just 
emerged,  so  the  passenger  over  the  Bridge  views  the  commotion, 
a  part  of  which  he  was,  but  no  longer  is.  Is  that  the  "  Pilgrim" 
steaming  along  in  a  direct  line  with  the  spot  where  you  stand  \ 
Let  her  come ;  and  from  your  serene  height  look  down  upon  her 
deck — even  into  her  smoke-stacks,  if  you  like — as  she  passes  harm- 
less beneath. 

THE  NEW  THOROUGHFARE. 

To  look  up  at  the  Bridge  from  below,  the  first  impression  is 
that  its  135  feet  above  high-water  is  a  dizzy  elevation  to  climb. 
The  descent  on  either  side  to  the  level  of  the  ferry,  and  the  climb 
again  on  the  other  side,  are  somehow  ignored.  But  the  pedestrian, 
as  he  goes  from  "Washington  and  Sands  Street  to  Fulton  Ferry,  has 
to  walk  down  a  descent  which  would  be  more  than  38  feet  in  a 
straight  line,  and  on  the  other  to  climb  an  ascent  to  City  Hall  Park 
of  more  than  60  feet.  The  excess  of  ascent  and  descent  in  cross- 
ing the  Bridge,  over  the  descent  and  ascent  in  crossing  the  ferry, 
calculating  by  a  right  line  from  terminus  to  terminus,  is  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  regular  grade  of  the  Bridge,  which  evenly 
spreads  over  the  whole  length  the  irregularities  of  the  ferry  route. 
One  hardly  notices  whether  he  is  on  the  up  or  the  down  grade  of 
3  feet  4  inches  in  100.  The  strain  on  horse-flesh  in  the  transit  over 
the  Bridge  is  trifling  compared  with  the  ferry,  even  leaving  out  of 
account  the  evener  paving  of  the  former. 


66 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


SEEMS  LIKE  A  STREET. 

Airy  and  graceful  as  the  structure  seems  from  below,  majesty 
and  strength,  crowned  by  beauty,  fill  with  awe  on  a  closer  acquaint- 
ance. Can  this  be  a  bridge ;  and  can  the  Atlantic  be  throbbing 
underneath  %  Why,  the  tread  seems  as  firm  as  on  Broadway ;  the 
feet  of  men  and  horses  in  throngs,  and  the  roll  of  the  railway  cars, 
make  the  same  hum  and  roar  you  are  accustomed  to  on  land,  and 
the  tremble  is  only  that  you  feel  when  a  heavy  truck  passes  your 
door.    The  Bridge  is  actually  wider  than  Broadway. 

THE  VIEW  FROM  IT. 

But  much  as  there  is  in  the  structure  to  call  and  hold  attention, 
the  eye  is  constantly  tempted  away  by  the  scene  to  which  it  admits 
you.  All  around  the  horizon  New  York  and  Brooklyn  lie  spread, 
separated  by  the  water-ways.  The  mind  is  busy  reproducing  the 
scene  that  would  have  met  the  eye  of  Hendrik  Hudson  if  he  could 
have  been  suspended  in  mid-air  at  the  spot  where  you  now  stand. 
The  East  and  Hudson  Rivers  showed  in  glimpses  amidst  the  mighty 
unbroken  forests  that  reached  everywhere  to  the  water's  edge.  No 
sound  or  sight  of  human  occupation  could  have  met  his  senses. 
Fish,  flesh,  and  fowl  only  inhabited  these  square  miles  of  territory 
over  which  the  eye  to-day  roves,  fatigued  with  the  endless  variety 
beneath  it.  On  every  hand,  houses,  factories,  hotels,  churches,  lift 
their  roofs  and  spires,  and  the  hum  of  the  busiest  human  life  is  in 
the  air.  The  waters  which  Hendrik  found  unvexed  by  aught  be- 
yond an  Indian's  paddle,  echoing  only  to  the  notes  of  water-birds, 
are  now  traversed  by  innumerable  craft,  and  the  air  filled  by  the 
noise  of  uncounted  steamers.  The  eye  and  the  imagination  find 
here  materials  for  boundless  observation  and  endless  reflection. 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN,  AND  THEIR  ENVIRONS.  67 


THE  HUMAN  BRAIN. 

But  whether  the  eye  sweeps  the  prospect,  or  is  occupied  with 
the  great  Bridge  itself,  how  the  attention  is  attracted  to  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  human  brain !  Ignoring  for  the  moment  all  around, 
consider  that  this  mass  of  masonry  and  metal  is  the  product  of  that 
matter,  of  which  each  one  of  us  carries  more  or  less  behind  his 
eyes ;  that  it  was  called  into  existence,  and  set  its  task  by  mere 
vibrations  in  that  porous  mass  easily  lost  in  the  inside  of  a  tall  hat ; 
that  everything  here  was  first  a  thought,  and  a  thought  only. 
Where  has  this  Bridge  been  actually  built?  In  the  brains  of  the  two 
Roeblings,  father  and  son.  The  younger  helped  the  elder  from 
the  start,  and,  after  his  untimely  death,  planned  and  finished  the 
work.  Think  of  the  partially  paralyzed  body,  which  in  pain  and 
weariness,  working  by  snatches,  for  long  years  unable  to  visit  the 
object  of  its  labors,  has  held  the  undimmed  mind.  "  Ah !"  said 
the  auntie  who  first  saw  a  train  of  cars,  "  God's  works  are  great, 
but  man's  are  greater."  Surely,  the  same  life  beats  in  both,  and 
there  seems  no  limit  of  achievement  which  the  human  brain, 
renewed  and  vivified  at  each  throb  with  the  exhaustless  life  of  the 
universe,  need  fear.  It  sees  the  statue  in  the  marble,  and  cuts 
away  from  it  the  superfluous  stone.  From  bristles  and  canvas  and 
pigments  it  creates  "The  Last  Judgment;"  and  a  brain  more 
than  eighty  years  at  constant  work  calls  into  being  "  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome,"and  there  St.  Peter's  stands.  Printing  presses,  locomotives, 
Jacquard  looms,  steamships  and  telegraphs,  all  emerge  from  its 
gray  cells.  And  under  the  incitement  of  Mr.  Kingsley,  the 
brains  of  the  Roeblings  took  up  this  mighty  task,  and  here  to- 
day stands  the  completed  Bridge. 

"BAD  FOR  THE  COO." 

Now  and  then  a  ship  or  man-of-war  has  spars  so  tall  that  they 
cannot  pass  under  the  Bridge,  at  its  height  of  135  feet.  In  such 
cases  part  of  the  rigging  must  be  taken  down  if  the  vessel  is  to 


68 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


pass.  Many  a  time  it  seemed  from  below  as  if  a  mast  must  strike 
the  growing  Bridge,  but  it  seldom  did,  and  a  timid  mind  some- 
times fears  the  damage  a  mast  reaching  too  high  up  may  do  the 
Bridge.  Among  the  objections  made  to  the  earliest  locomotive 
was  one  arising  from  the  fear  of  the  damage  a  straying  cow  might 
work.  What  would  happen  if  a  cow  should  run  into  the  "  moving 
machine"  ?  "  Ah  !"  said  George  Stephenson,  "  it  would  be  bad  for 
the  coo." 


THE  QUESTION  OF  TOLLS. 


69 


THE  QUESTION  OF  TOLLS. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  discussion  as  to  whether  the 
Bridge  should  be  free,  or  whether  tolls  should  be  exacted  from 
those  using  it.  It  has  been  urged,  on  the  one  hand,  that  as  the 
Bridge  has  been  built  by  the  cities,  its  cost  paid  by  mortgaging 
their  property,  and  as  a  great  public  necessity,  it  is  absurd  to 
charge  a  toll  to  the  residents  of  the  two  cities  for  the  use  of  their 
own.  And  it  has  been  further  urged  that  the  freer  and  more  ser- 
viceable the  Bridge  can  be  made,  the  larger  will  be  the  multitude 
of  those  who  will  make  Brooklyn  their  home,  and  the  faster  will 
property  increase  in  taxable  value.  And  to  the  increase  in  the 
value  of  property  the  City  of  Brooklyn  should  look  to  reimburse 
itself  for  the  cost.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  said  that  it  is  unfair 
to  throw  upon  the  whole  community  the  cost  of  a  convenience 
used  only  by  a  part ;  that  the  plan  all  along  has  been  to  charge  toll, 
and  that  the  trustees,  under  the  law  as  it  is,  have  no  option,  but 
must  collect  tolls.  An  act  was  before  the  last  Legislature,  just 
before  its  adjournment,  to  repeal  what  was  by  some  regarded  as 
mandatory  before ;  but  the  act  did  not  become  a  law.  In  these 
circumstances  the  trustees  consulted  their  own  counsel,  and  the 
corporation  counsels  respectively  of  the  two  cities ;  and  these  all 
agreed  that,  under  the  law  as  it  stands,  tolls  must  be  charged.  At 
their  meeting  May  14,  the  trustees  adopted  the  following  schedule 


of  tolls : 

Foot-passengers   1  cent. 

Car  fare.   5  cents. 

One  horse,  or  horse  and  man   5  cents. 

One  horse  and  vehicle   10  cents. 

Two  horses  and  vehicle,  loaded  or  unloaded   20  cents. 

Each  horse  beyond  two  attached  to  any  vehicle   5  cents. 

Neat  cattle,  each   5  cents. 

Sheep  and  hogs,  each  *   2  cents. 


70 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


These  were  adopted  provisionally  and  temporarily,  with  the  dis- 
tinct understanding  that  they  are  to  be  reconsidered  as  soon  as  a 
sufficient  body  of  experience  shall  have  grown  together  to  give 
data  for  more  careful  calculation.  And  there  is  a  very  general 
expectation  that  the  next  Legislature  will  destroy  all  legal  barriers 
to  making  the  Bridge  free. 

FOOT-PASSENGERS. 

The  Bridge,  complete  as  it  stands  in  itself,  cannot  enter  on  any 
enlarged  sphere  of  usefulness,  until  connections  are  made  with  it 
at  either  end,  and  it  thus  becomes  the  integral  part  it  should  be,  of 
the  system  of  travel.  To-day,  the  foot-passenger  is  landed  in  Brook- 
lyn at  the  intersection  of  two  streets,  in  each  of  which  runs  a  horse 
railroad,  having  its  starting-point  at  Fulton  Ferry.  To  be  sure,  the 
City  Eailroad  Company  is  busy  preparing  for  a  depot  at  the  Bridge 
terminus,  where  passengers  may  take  any  one  of  their  lines.  But 
other  cars  of  all  these  lines  will  start  from  the  ferry.  Supposing 
an  equal  number  of  passengers  who  walk  to  their  homes  to  be 
accommodated  either  way.  The  passenger  who  is  going  to  ride 
home  is  equally  accommodated  at  the  ferry  and  the  bridge.  Dur- 
ing commission  hours  the  fare  on  the  ferry  for  a  ride  over  on  the 
boat  is  one  cent,  the  same  as  for  the  walk  over  the  Bridge.  And 
for  the  remainder  of  the  day  the  ferriage,  when  tickets  are  bought, 
is  17  crossings  for  25  cents.  Clearly,  there  is  small  inducement 
here  for  persons  who  do  not  start  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
City  Hall,  to  forsake  the  ferry.  If  the  travel  on  the  ferry-boats 
is  thinned  out,  so  as  to  leave  less  crowded  accommodation  for 
crossers  during  the  busy  hours,  that  is  as  much  as  can  be  expected. 

THE  FOOTWAY  WILL  NOT  BE  LONESOME. 

But  thousands  on  thousands  will  cross  the  Bridge  because  it  is 
the  Bridge,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  magnificent  view  it  affords. 
Other  thousands  of  visitors  will  cross  and  recross,  not  to  get  any- 


THE  QUESTION  OF  TOLLS. 


71 


where,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  journey.  And  as  the  time  to  be 
spent  in  the  transit  is  not  limited,  the  pleasures  it  affords  will  be 
drawn  out,  and  the  average  pedestrian  will  spend  threefold,  four- 
fold more  time  in  walking  across  than  he  did  in  riding.  There  will 
be  a  great  stream  of  travel  at  one  cent,  and  the  floor  of  the  Bridge 
will  not  be  lonesome.  And  in  fog  or  ice — if  the  toll  system  lasts 
till  ice-time  comes  again — the  ferry-boats  will  run  nearly  or  quite 
empty. 

THE  RAILWAY  SERVICE. 

So  as  to  the  railway  service.  At  either  end,  the  cars  are  up- 
stairs, and  do  not  now  connect  with  anything.  In  Kew  York,  the 
City  Hall  station  of  the  Third  Avenue  Railroad  is  close  by,  and 
the  change  made  by  merely  going  down  one  flight  of  stairs  and  up 
another.  In  Brooklyn,  not  even  that.  This  will  not  prevent  an 
immense  travel  back  and  forth  on  the  cars.  The  little  Manhattan 
Beach  Marine  Railway,  Coney  Island,  carried  last  season  879,327 
passengers,  with  net  earnings  of  more  than  §16,500.  And  the 
season  there  is  about  four  months.  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that 
the  average  travel  over  the  Bridge  Railway  will  be  much  greater 
than  over  the  Marine,  and  that  it  will  last  uninterruptedly  the 
year  round  ? 

TOLLS  ON  THE  DRIVEWAY. 

The  tolls  for  teams  and  vehicles  over  the  Bridge  adopted  by  the 
trustees  do  not  differ  materially  from  those  already  charged  at  the 
ferry.  The  drivers  of  freight  wagons  and  trucks  will  go  across  the 
river  in  one  way  or  the  other,  according  to  circumstances.  Coming 
in  from  Broadway,  above  City  Hall,  the  passage  over  the  Bridge 
with  its  gentle  ascent  and  descent,  will  be  much  easier  than  the 
more  abrupt  descent  and  ascent  over  the  ferry  route.  Teams  from 
the  Post-office  and  below  will  probably  keep  to  the  ferry — al- 
ways excepting  fogs  and  ice,  when  often  the  ferries  refuse  all 
teams  for  hours.  But  all  the  carriages  and  pleasure  travel  will 
take  the  Bridge,  and  will  be  greatly  reinforced  by  those  who  go  to 


72  NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


see  the  Bridge  itself.  And  then  one  has  a  point  of  view  from  the 
driveway  different  from  that  he  has  on  the  footway.  In  the  latter 
he  is  high  over  the  Bridge  in  its  centre,  but  on  either  side  he  is 
more  than  30  feet  away  from  its  outside  railing.  On  the  railway 
he  is  nearer  one  side,  but  cannot  linger  at  all  to  take  it  in.  In  the 
driveway  he  may  go  close  to  the  lattice  that  guards  interstices  of 
the  longitudinal  truss,  and  get  a  much  clearer  view  on  one  side 
only,  and  can  better  examine  and  appreciate  the  complicated  and 
elaborate  truss  system,  which  is  mostly  hidden  under  foot  from  the 
pedestrian. 

THE  UNION  FERRY  COMPANY. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Union  Ferry  Company,  which 
carries  its  nearly  a  million  passengers  a  week,  will  fold  its  arms, 
and  allow  any  paying  business  it  can  retain  to  slip  from  its  grasp. 
There  may  be  yet  hidden  capabilities  in  ferry  transportation.  A 
Yankee  occasionally  asks  why  a  Fulton  ferry-boat  may  not  be  a 
two-decker  like  the  Long  Island  Railroad  boats,  and  take  and  land 
passengers  from  two  levels.  And  the  rates  of  toll  for  man  and 
beast  may  be  as  plastic  on  the  ferry  as  on  the  Bridge.  There  may 
be  no  descendant  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  dominant  in  either 
direction.  And  in  this  rivalry  between  the  two  methods,  "  the 
forgotten  man,"  as  Prof.  Sumner  calls  him, — the  man  who  pays 
his  own  way  and  attends  to  his  own  business, — may  find  his  account. 
Pumor  has  it  that  the  Union  Ferry  Company  has  sometimes  hard 
work  to  dispose  of  its  earnings,  so  as  not  to  pay  over  anything  to 
the  city.  If  this  be  not  false  rumor,  there  may  be  here  an  oppor- 
tunity to  serve  the  public  with  a  better  and  more  economical  trans- 
fer from  shore  to  shore  than  it  has  ever  had.  The  "  forgotten 
man"  is  quite  willing  to  see  it  tried,  even  if  the  ferry  stock  should 
drop  a  few  points  in  the  "  market,"  where,  however,  it  seldom  or 
never  comes.  And  whatever  the  rivalry,  if  any  there  should  be, 
between  the  two  routes,  the  public  cannot  but  be  the  gainer. 


THE  PROSPECT  FOR  BROOKLYN. 


73 


THE  PROSPECT  FOR  BROOKLYN. 

A  few  years  ago  Brooklyn  was  regarded  only  as  "  a  dormitory  of 
New  York."  But  lately  the  state  of  things  thus  described  has  been 
rapidly  changing.  Manufactories  have  sprung  up  on  every  hand, 
and  the  steam  whistle,  the  hum  of  machinery,  long  lines  of  opera- 
tives, male  and  female,  and  trucks  and  cars  loaded  with  her  prod- 
uce, are  met  with  on  every  side.  The  most  prominent  building 
in  Brooklyn,  seen  from  the  bridge,  is  a  factory — the  printing- 
office  of  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.- — a  six-story  building  filled  by  a  busi- 
ness that  three  years  ago  they  carried  on  in  New  York.  And  per- 
petually the  resident,  passing  through  some  street  the  first  time  for 
two  or  three  years,  is  surprised  at  the  new  factories  he  then  sees 
for  the  first  time. 

RAPID  TRANSIT  IN  BROOKLYN. 

The  present  condition  of  travel  is  temporary  and  tentative  only. 
Rapid  transit  in  Brooklyn  is  a  thing  of  the  immediate  future.  It 
has  a  surface  line  running  from  Atlantic  and  Flatbush  Avenue  to 
East  New  York.  To  get  to  it  from  anywhere  down-town  one 
must  walk  or  take  the  horse-cars.  From  anywhere  in  old  Brook- 
lyn, the  traveller  must  go  to  the  Long  Island  Railroad  depot  to 
take  steam.  Spasmodic  efforts  have  been  made,  dog  in-the-man- 
ger  enterprises  undertaken  ;  but  the  outcome  so  far  is,  street  after 
street  defaced  and  obstructed  by  useless  unfinished  frames  and 
foundations,  and  no  cars  running.  This  state  of  things  cannot 
last,  and  in  one  way  or  another  connection  is  sure  and  certain  to 
be  made  between  the  ferry  and  the  Bridge,  and  the  Long  Island 
Railroad  depot ;  and  probably  not  much  later  to  other  and  more 
distant  points  in  the  city. 


THE  PROSPECT  FOR  BROOKLYN. 


75 


THE  FLATBUSH  AVENUE  EXTENSION. 

A  straight  line  from  the  Brooklyn  terminus  of  the  Bridge  to  the 
Flatbush  Avenue  depot  runs  diagonally  through  blocks  the  whole 
distance,  as  the  map  will  illustrate.  The  bill  introduced  into  the 
last  Legislature  by  Mayor  Low  provided  for  the  opening  of  a  wide 
avenue  on  that  line,  without  expense  to  the  city,  and  buying  the 
equities  of  the  property-holders.  That  bill  failed.  The  proba- 
bility is  that  either  by  public  or  by  private  enterprise  the  connec- 
tion will  be  made.  If  nothing  more,  the  Long  Island  Railroad 
Company  will  extend  its  system  of  travel  to  the  Bridge.  For 
that  alone  there  will  not  be  wanted  more  than  half  the  width  a  pub- 
lic street  would  require.  There  will  be  undoubtedly  enterprise 
and  public  spirit  enough  to  cut  through  the  needed  avenue  wide 
and  ample,  with  room  for  traffic,  pedestrians,  wheels  and  cars.  Be- 
yond the  Long  Island  depot,  Flatbush  Avenue  already  extends  in 
a  straight  line  to  the  entrance  of  Prospect  Park,  and  beyond  that 
to  Flatbush j  Flatlands,  and  the  sea. 


76 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


FUTURE  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 

Who  can  forecast  the  future  of  Long  Island,  of  "  fish-shaped  Pau- 
manok,"  as  a  great  poet  so  fitly  names  it?  How  it  stretches  off, 
one  hundred  miles  long  of  it,  to  the  Eastward,  almost  every  inch  of 
its  mainland  easily  fit  for  human  habitations  :  and  its  sandy  beaches 
none  too  many  for  the  use  of  the  population  it  is  destined  to  hold. 
Across  its  acres  blow  salt-water  breezes  from  North,  East  and 
South ;  and  even  the  West  has  ample  water  border.  And  its  gene- 
rally level  conformation  offers  an  easy  transportation  to  the  increas- 
ing multitudes  who  must  do  business  in  the  western  end  of  the 
consolidated  city  —  the  present  New  York.  If  a  country-bred, 
mountain-loving  spirit  yearns  for  a  home  in  an  undulating  country, 
where  he  may  see  hills  and  vales,  a  few  miles'  ride  on  the  Sound 
side  of  the  island  gives  it.  Spite  of  the  obstacles  of  ferry  crossing 
and  a  long  horse-car  ride  to  reach  steam,  or  a  half  hour  water  ride 
to  meet  steam  at  the  docks,  the  island,  and  especially  the  western 
end,  has  grown,  and  is  even  now  growing,  as  we  have  already 
shown,  greatly  in  advance  of  any  other  land  abutting  on  New  York 
waters.  Not  only  has  the  permanent  population  of  the  island  so 
greatly  increased,  but  the  late  development  of  its  beaches  has  been 
even  more  marvelous.  Manhattan,  Brighton  and  Long  Beach 
hotels  shelter  in  the  summer  human  souls  enough  themselves  to 
people  a  great  city.  And  the  improved  means  of  transit  to  them 
afforded  by  the  Bridge  when  the  iron  horse  shall  run  to  and  from 
its  termini,  will  soon  dwarf  the  proportions  of  even  the  large 
present  travel.  Even  now,  hundreds  of  miles  away,  the  summer 
traveler  sees  announcements  of  excursions  made  up  for  Manhattan 
and  other  beaches ;  and  the  tide  has  hardly  fairly  begun  to  set. 
The  new  New  York,  extending  from  the  Hudson  River  far  along 


THE  FUTURE  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 


77 


the  island,  shall  draw  all  the  year  around,  from  outside  its  own 
borders,  a  travel,  whose  proportions  can  only  be  guessed. 

THE  LONG  ISLAND  RAILROAD. 

For,  although  there  is  but  one  management  of  the  railroads 
which  run  along  the  fish's  backbone,  with  their  many  spurs,  that  man- 
agement is  a  far-sighted,  enterprising  and  wealthy  one.  The  ancient 
niggardly  management  which  drove  the  old  company  into  bank- 
ruptcy, and  its  lines  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver  in  1877,  is  a  thing 
of  the  past.  The  leading  spirit  of  the  present  company  became 
then  the  receiver  of  the  defunct  one,  and  so  managed  the  property 
that  in  1881  the  receiver  was  discharged  and  the  present  manage- 
ment came  into  possession.  Now  the  rails  of  the  road  are  entirely 
of  steel,  and  its  engines  and  passenger  cars  the  present  summer  are 
unsurpassed.  From  two  and  a  quarter  million  passengers  carried 
in  1872,  the  number  rose  to  nearly  nine  millions  in  1882.  The 
same  enterprising  management  has  projected  a  line  of  steamers 
from  the  nearest  land  in  Wales,  Milford  Haven,  to  Fort  Pond 
Bay,  just  around  the  end  of  the  northern  fork  of  the  island. 
At  Fort  Pond  Bay,  incoming  ocean  passengers  will  take  the  cars  of 
this  road,  and  in  two  hours  thereafter  be  rolling  over  the  Great 
Bridge,  if  their  destination  is  that  way.  The  steady  aim  of  this 
Company  is  to  improve  the  track  and  the  stock,  to  encourage  resi- 
dence and  travel  in  all  ways,  and  to  pursue  a  policy  that  shall  build 
up  the  island  :  the  prosperity  of  the  island  helping  the  road, 
and  similarly  the  prosperity  of  the  road  helping  the  island.  Trans- 
portation, safe,  swift  and  pleasant,  is  afforded  to  those  who  travel 
much,  as  low  as  half  a  cent  a  mile. 

THE  BRIDGE  IN  THE  RAILROAD  CIRCUIT. 

When  the  Bridge  shall  be  taken  into  the  railroad  circuit,  and 
passengers  transported  over  it  to  distant  points  without  change  of 
cars,  the  great  benefits  involved  in  it  will  begin  really  to  accrue, 


78 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


and  united  New  York  will  take  a  fresh  start.  Men  can  do  busi- 
ness on  Manhattan  Island,  enter  the  cars  at  City  Hall,  and  in  a 
half -hour  be  landed  near  a  home  in  the  country  or  the  village.  Bos- 
ton has  long  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  city  offering  unrivaled 
facilities  for  getting  away  from  itself,  and  New  York  has  stayed  at 
the  foot  of  the  class.  The  Bridge  puts  her  at  a  step,  or  will  put 
her  when  the  present  plans  are  set  in  operation,  at  or  near  the 
head.  She  will  become  more  and  more,  "  beautiful  for  situation, 
the  joy  of  the  whole  earth." 


HONOR  TO  WHOM  HONOR  IS  DUE. 


79 


HONOR  TO  WHOM  HONOR  IS  DUE. 

But  for  all  the  conveniences  and  facilities  the  Bridge  affords 
and  is  to  afford,  in  the  midst  of  wonder  and  delight,  the  music  of 
bands,  the  noise  of  cannon,  the  orator's  periods,  the  blaze  of  gas 
and  electric  lights,  and  the  explosion  of  fireworks,  let  us  not  forget 
the  man  to  whose  "  audacious  genius"  the  result  is  due.  Human 
brains  were  plenty,  there  was  experience  in  bridge-building  on  a 
smaller  scale,  there  was  the  need  of  the  structure,  and  means  were 
on  every  hand.  So  in  the  block  of  marble  the  statue  is  concealed. 
But  William  C.  Kingsley  saw  what  was  not  taken  in  by  other 
eyes,  and  as  the  old  hymn  has  it,  "  he  wan  to  the  fruition,  Of  that 
which  he  had  seen  in  vision."  With  his  keen  eye  on  the  result 
that  to-day  is  astonishing  the  country,  through  evil  report  and 
through  good,  his  long  fingers  have  beckoned  the  men  and  have 
conjured  the  means,  and  perpetually  pushing  here  and  combining 
there,  always  driving  in  the  refractory  elements  and  subordinating 
them  to  the  great  end,  the  twenty  year  long  labor  stands  achieved. 
Over  Christopher  Wren's  grave  in  St.  Paul's,  London,  is  inscribed, 
Si  monumentum  quceris,  circumspice :  If  you  seek  his  epitaph, 
look  about  you.  The  man  who  rejoices  in  the  welfare  of  his 
race,  and  who  knows  that  its  progress  comes  mainly  from  those 
who  have  rendered  material  services,  have  created  the  art  of  print- 
ing, called  into  being  the  steam-engine,  the  telegraph,  the  sewing 
and  the  mowing  machine,  and  lifted  the  daily  life  of  all  to  a  higher 
level ;  that  their  services  overtop  and  dwarf  theirs  who  give  them- 
selves to  art  and  to  so-called  "  morals,"  great  as  their  contribu- 
tions may  be  ;  such  a  man  will  regard  the  Brooklyn  Bridge  as  a 
monument  of  which  its  author  may  be  prouder  than  if  he  had 
written  Beethoven's  Fifth  Symphony,  painted  the  Last  Judgment, 


80 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


lived  a  Confucius  or  a  Mahomet,  or  built  St.  Paul's  or  St.  Peter's. 
Mr.  Kingsley  happily  does  not  need  a  monument :  but  his  work 
stands  proudly  up  and  speaks  for  him ;  and  will  long  after  he  shall 
have  passed  away. 

Of  the  two  leading  coadjutors  with  Mr.  Kingsley  in  this  great 
work,  James  S.  T.  Stranahan,  still  hale  and  hearty,  presides  at 
the  opening.  The  face  of  the  other  will  be  greatly  missed  ;  and 
multitudes  will  regret  that  Henry  C.  Murphy  did  not  live  to  see 
the  consummation  of  the  work  which  had  employed  his  busy  brain 
and  active  hand  so  many  years. 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE.  81 


SKETCHES  OF  MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE 
BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE. 


JOHN  A.  ROEBLTNG. 
FROM  PORTRAIT  IN  HARPERS  MAGAZINE. 

JOHN  A.  BOEBLING. 

John  A.  Hobbling,  the  great  engineer  by  whose  genius  the 
Bridge  was  designed,  was  born  June  12th.  1806,  in  the  city  of 
Muhlhausen,  Prussia.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  his 
native  city,  but  he  received  his  professional  training  at  the  Royal 
Polytechnic  School  at  Berlin.  At  that  institution  he  won  high 
distinction  in  his  studies,  and  received  the  degree  of  civil  engineer. 
For  several  years  immediately  following  this  he  was  employed  as 
superintendent  on  some  government  works  in  Westphalia.  He 
emigrated  to  this  country  when  about  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
6 


82  NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 

and  at  first  devoted  himself  to  farming  near  Pittsburg.  That 
period  was  an  era  of  great  industrial  and  commercial  activity,  and 
canals  and  other  public  improvements  were  in  process  of  construc- 
tion in  all  the  States. 

Mr.  Roebling,  who  was  soon  weary  of  a  farmer's  life,  again 
turned  his  attention  to  his  profession.  At  first  his  services  were 
employed  in  canal  work ;  but  railways  soon  asserted  their  superi- 
ority as  a  means  of  transportation  and  communication,  and  the 
energy  and  activity  which  had  been  employed  in  constructing 
water-ways  were  diverted  to  the  building  of  railways.  Mr.  Roeb- 
ling was  soon  employed  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  then  project- 
ing various  railways,  in  surveying  and  locating  lines  through  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  from  Harrisburg  to  Pittsburg.  One  of 
the  routes  thus  surveyed  was  afterwards  opened,  and  is  now  the 
Pennsylvania  Railway. 

Mr.  Roebling  next  devoted  his  energies  to  the  manufacture  of 
wire  rope,  and  was  the  first  to  produce  that  article  in  this  country. 
These  ropes  were  used  on  the  inclined  planes  of  the  portage  railroad 
over  which  the  canal-boats  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  were  trans- 
ported. He  now  undertook  the  building  of  a  suspension  aqueduct 
across  the  Alleghany  River  at  Pittsburg,  a  work  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1845,  and  the  success  of  which  was  so  marked  that  he 
was  selected  to  build  the  Monongahela  suspension-bridge  connect- 
ing Pittsburg  with  Sligo. 

In  the  year  1848  he  began  a  series  of  suspension  aqueducts  on 
the  line  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal,  designed  to  connect 
the  anthracite  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  tide-waters 
of  the  Hudson  River,  the  building  of  which  consumed  two  years. 
These  works  are  permanent,  requiring  merely  an  occasional  re- 
newal of  the  wooden  ducts  which  decay  from  the  action  of  the 
water.  Not  long  after  these  aqueducts  were  finished  Mr.  Roeb- 
ling moved  to  Trenton,  N".  J. 

He  now  began  the  construction  of  a  series  of  great  suspension- 
bridges  which  are  among  the  most  famous  engineering  structures 
in  the  world,  and  are  surpassed  in  magnitude  only  by  the  New 
York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge.  The  first  of  these,  begun  in  1851,  is 
the  bridge  across  the  Niagara,  connecting  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad  with  the  Great  Western  Railway  of  Canada,  the  building 
of  which  occupied  four  years.    The  span  of  this  bridge,  the  sup- 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE.  83 


ports  of  which  are  four  10-inch  cables,  is  825  feet,  and  it  was  the 
first  suspension-bridge  capable  of  sustaining  the  great  weight  of 
railroad  trains.  Even  while  this  bridge  was  building,  Mr.  Roeb- 
ling  was  engaged  on  another  of  still  greater  magnitude,  intended 
to  cross  the  Kentucky  on  the  line  of  the  Cincinnati  and  Chatta- 
nooga Eailroad,  with  a  span  of  1221:  feet.  This  work,  however, 
was  discontinued  on  account  of  the  insolvency  of  the  company. 
In  the  fall  of  1856  the  great  Cincinnati  bridge  was  commenced. 
The  building  of  this  bridge,  the  span  of  which  is  1030  feet,  was 
also  interrupted  by  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  company, 
but  was  at  length  finished  in  1867.  During  the  same  period  Mr. 
Koebling  built  another  suspension-bridge  at  Pittsburg. 

In  May,  1867,  Mr.  Koebling  was  appointed  engineer  of  the  New 
York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge,  and  in  the  following  September  he 
made  his  report  of  surveys,  plans,  and  estimates.  In  July,  1869y 
he  was  badly  injured  at  the  Fulton  Ferry  slip  while  engaged  in- 
fixing the  location  of  the  Brooklyn  tower,  his  foot  being  crushed 
by  timbers  displaced  by  a  ferry-boat  which  was  entering  the  slip. 
This  injury  resulted  in  lock-jaw,  from  which  he  died  July  22d, 
1869. 

COL.  WASHINGTON  A.  KOEBLING. 

Citizens  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  may  well  congratulate 
themselves  that  when  the  untimely  death  of  Jno.  A.  Roebling 
deprived  the  Bridge  of  its  engineer,  a  successor  was  found  in  his 
son,  Washington  A.  Roebling,  who  not  only  inherited  his  father's 
talents  and  genius  for  great  engineering  enterprises,  but  had  been 
closely  associated  with  him  in  some  of  his  famous  undertakings, 
and  indeed  had  taken  no  inconsiderable  part  in  the  preparation  of 
the  plans  for  the  Brooklyn  Bridge  itself.  The  father  had  enter- 
tained a  high  opinion  of  his  son's  capacity,  and  accorded  to  him 
much  of  the  credit  due  for  some  of  the  great  works  with  which 
his  own  name  was  associated,  particularly  the  Cincinnati  bridge. 
In  fact  he  remarked,  "  If  I  hadn't  him,  I  would  not,  at  my  time  of 
life,  have  undertaken  the  East  River  Bridge.  If  anything  happens 
to  me  he  can  push  on  about  as  well  as  I  can." 

"Washington  A.  Roebling  was  born  in  Saxonburg,  Pa.,  May  26, 
1837.  Until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  educated  at  the 
Academy  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  thence  went  to  the  Rens> 


84 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


selaer  Polytechnic  School  at  Troy.  Graduating  from  that  institu- 
tion in  1S57,  he  at  once  became  associated  with  his  father  in  bridge 
building,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  was  busily  engaged 
on  the  Alleghany  Bridge  at  Pittsburg.  He  enlisted  in  the  Fourth 
New  York  Artillery  as  a  private,  and  being  sent  to  join  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  was  assigned  to  an  important  post  in  the  Engineer 
Corps,  a  branch  of  the  service  for  which  his  thorough  knowledge 
of  topographical  engineering  peculiarly  fitted  him.  While  in  the 
army  he  built  a  suspension-bridge  at  Harper's  Ferry  for  the  use  of 
the  troops.    He  saw  much  hard  service.    He  was  frequently  sent 


COL.  WASHINGTON  A.  ROEBLING. 
FROM  PORTRAIT  IN  HARPER'S  MAGAZINE. 


out  in  charge  of  reconnoitring  parties,  securing  information  which 
proved  of  value  to  the  army,  and  part  of  the  time  was  on  the  staff 
of  Gen.  G.  K.  Warren.  He  was  present  at  Gettysburg,  and  it  was 
for  gallantry  in  that  action  that  he  received  his  commission  as 
colonel.  At  Petersburg  also  his  services  were  valuable,  at  which 
place  he  took  an  important  share  in  the  destruction  of  the  Weldon 
Canal,  an  act  which  was  effective  in  cutting  off  the  enemy's  base 
of  supplies. 

Leaving  the  army  in  February,  1865,  and  resuming  work  in  his 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE. 


85 


profession  as  an  engineer,  he  was  employed  on  the  suspension- 
bridge  at  Cincinnati,  on  which  his  father  was  then  engaged,  and 
devoted  himself  to  that  great  structure  until  its  completion.  Col. 
Roebling  then  visited  Europe,  where  he  remained  about  six  months, 
and  made  a  most  careful  and  thorough  study  of  all  the  important 
engineering  works  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  giving  spec- 
ial attention  to  the  latest  scientific  information  on  the  subject  of 
pneumatic  foundations.  On  his  return  he  assisted  his  father  in 
maturing  the  plans  for  the  East  River  Bridge.  He  was  thus  em- 
ployed until  the  elder  Roebling's  death  in  July,  1869,  when  he  was 
promptly  appointed  his  successor  as  Chief  Engineer.  While  in 
the  caisson  directing  the  work  for  the  Bridge  foundations,  Col. 
Roebling's  system  received  a  severe  shock,  which  has  occasioned 
him  much  suffering  ever  since.  While  that  work  was  going  on 
his  unremitting  attention  both  day  and  night  was  required,  as  the 
slightest  error  or  want  of  caution  would  have  imperilled  the  lives 
of  hundreds  of  workmen,  besides  destroying  the  results  of  much 
laborious  effort.  On  one  occasion,  in  December  1870,  he  was 
brought  up  out  of  the  ISew  York  caisson  in  an  almost  insensible 
condition,  and  all  the  following  night  his  life  was  despaired  of ;  but 
he  rallied  in  a  few  days  and  resumed  work  in  the  caisson,  against 
the  protests  of  his  physicians.  In  spite  of  his  sufferings  he  has 
devoted  himself  unceasingly  to  the  great  enterprise  committed  to 
his  charge,  and,  released  from  the  heavy  strain  of  responsibility 
which  rested  upon  him  for  so  many  years,  now  lives  to  see  the 
completion  of  his  stupendous  work,  and  to  enjoy  the  fame  which 
his  great  achievement  has  won  for  him.  Col.  Roebling  has  not 
personally  been  upon  the  completed  structure  at  all.  From  a  house 
on  Columbia  Heights  he  has  planned  and  directed  the  work  in  its 
details,  and  from  a  back  bay-window  with  a  telescope  watched  its 
progress.  He  has  been  greatly  assisted  by  his  wife,  whose  acquaint- 
ance with  the  whole  vast  work  is  most  minute  and  accurate.  His 
disease  leaves  him  the  use  of  all  his  faculties — that  is  plain  from 
the  result  they  have  achieved ;  but  forbids  any  unusual  or  long- 
continued  exertion,  under  penalty  of  prostration.  Many  a  man 
would  think  his  enfeebled  body  a  small  price  to  pay  for  his  vigorous, 
educated  and  efficient  brain.  To  an  interviewer  who  congratulated 
him  on  the  successful  termination  of  his  great  work,  and  suggested 
that  this  would  be  the  last  of  the  kind  he  would  undertake,  he  is 


86 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


reported  as  replying :  "  I  don't  know.  If  I  get  well,  there  is  lots 
of  work  to  do  in  the  world  yet." 

Mrs.  Roebling  was  the  first  to  drive  over  the  Bridge,  and  found 
that  no  perceptible  vibration  was  occasioned  by  the  trotting  of 
her  horse. 

WILLIAM  C.  KINGSLEY. 

Mr.  William  C.  Kingsley,  who  has  acted  as  president  of  the 
Board  of  Bridge  Trustees  since  the  death  of  Mr.  Murphy,  is  about 
sixty  years  of  age,  and  was  born  in  northern  New  York,  where  his 
father  was  a  farmer.    When  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  went 


WILLIAM  C.  KINGSLEY. 
FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH  BY  ALVA  PEARSALL. 


to  Westmoreland  County,  Pa.,  where  he  taught  school  for  a 
year..  He  then  obtained  a  position  as  superintendent  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  canal  in  western  Pennsylvania,  and  though  his  pre- 
decessors had  been  unable  to  make  much  progress  with  the  work 
owing  to  the  wild  and  turbulent  character  of  the  workmen  en- 
gaged on  it,  by  his  energy,  determination,  and  tact  he  brought  the 
undertaking  to  a  successful  termination.  He  was  next  engaged 
on  the  Portage  railway,  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  in 
railway  building  in  Illinois  and  elsewhere,  always  with  success. 

He  came  to  Brooklyn  in  1857,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  here, 
built  a  bridge  across  the  Susquehanna  Kiver  in  Pennsylvania,  and 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE.  87 


did  a  large  share  of  the  work  on  Brooklyn  water  and  sewerage 
works.  He  also  built  the  Fifty-ninth  Street  sewer  in  New  York, 
and  participated  largely  in  the  work  on  Central  Park.  . 

Mr.  Kingsley  was  one  of  the  first  to  insist  upon  the  feasibility 
of  a  bridge  across  the  East  River,  and  long  before  the  incorporation 
of  the  Bridge  Company  he  had  had  plans  prepared  and  surveys 
made.  From  the  first  he  was  confident  of  the  success  of  the  great 
enterprise,  and  it  was  by  his  untiring  efforts  that  the  first  five  mil- 
lion dollars  devoted  #to  the  construction  of  the  Bridge  was  raised, 
and  this  before  a  dollar  had  been  subscribed  by  the  cities  of  New 
York  and  Brooklyn.  His  thorough  familiarity  with  the  history 
and  character  of  the  great  work  and  the  intelligent  zeal  which  he 
had  displayed  in  its  execution,  pointed  him  out  as  the  fitting  suc- 
cessor of  the  late  Henry  C.  Murphy,  as  president  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  on  that  gentleman's  death,  in  December,  1882.  •  But 
although  acting  as  President,  ever  since  that  event  he  has  retained 
his  former  title  of  Yice  President. 

Though  always  influential  in  local  politics,  Mr.  Kingsley  has  held 
no  political  position  in  Brooklyn.  He  is  a  man  of  large  and  varied 
business  interests  and  has  been  identified  with  the  Metropolitan 
Gas  Company,  and  with  banks  and  insurance  companies  in  his  city. 
He  built  the  Hempstead  Reservoir,  and  the  Brooklyn  Theatre, 
and  has  long  been  one  of  the  largest  owners  of  the  Brooklyn 
Eagle. 

HENEY  C.  MURPHY. 

Henry  C.  Murphy  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  July  3,  1810.  His 
grandfather,  Timothy  Murphy,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1769 
and  settled  in  Monmouth  County,  New  Jersey,  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  Army.  John  Garrison  Murphy,  the  father  of 
Henry  C,  married  Clarissa  Runyon,  of  th,e  well-known  New  Jer- 
sey family  of  that  name,  and  removed  to  Brooklyn  about  a  year 
before  the  birth  of  Henry  C.  Mr.  Murphy  graduated  at  Columbia 
College  in  1830,  and  entering  upon  the  study  of  the  law  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1833.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late 
Judge  John  A.  Lott,  and  the  firm  of  Lott,  Murphy  &  Yanderbilt 
was  prominent  in  Brooklyn  for  many  years.  Mr.  Murphy  became 
conspicuous  in  politics  at  an  early  age,  and  always  took  an  active 
interest  in  municipal  affairs.    In  1834  he  was  delegate  to  the  con- 


88 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


vention  at  Herkimer  to  take  action  in  regard  to  the  banking  laws 
of  the  State,  ai.  {  was  prominent  in  its  deliberations.  He  was  cor- 
poration counsel  of  Brooklyn  in  1836  and  was  elected  mayor  in 
1842.  in  which  office  he  was  a  stanch  advocate  of  economy  and 
business  principles.  Always  a  Democrat  in  politics,  he  was  elected 
to  the  Twenty-eighth  Congress  by  that  parry  before  his  term  as 
mayor  had  expired,  and  distinguished  himself  as  an  advocate  of 
tariff  for  revenue  only.  Although  defeated  for  reelection  to  the 
next  Congress,  he  was  returned  to  that  bodv  again  in  1846,  and 
during  his  term  of  service  secured  the  passage  of  legislation  neces- 


HENRY  C.  MURPHY. 
FROM   A   PHOTOGRAPH   BY  RAWSON. 

sary  to  establish  the  dry  dock  at  Wall  about  Bay.  He  was  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1846,  and  at 
the  National  Democratic  Convention  at  Baltimore  in  1852  was 
strongly  supported  for  President  against  Franklin  Pierce,  who 
secured  the  nomination.  In  1857  he  was  appointed  Minister  to 
Holland  by  President  Buchanan,  and  remained  at  that  post  about 
three  years.  On  returning  to  this  country  he  took  strong  ground 
against  secession,  and  energetically  urged  his  party  to  yield  support 
to  the  federal  government  in  putting  down  the  rebellion,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Convention  in  1862  he  made  an 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE.  89' 


address  characterized  by  strong  Union  sentiments.  He  also  ren- 
dered efficient  service  in  raising  troops  for  the  army.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  held  that  office  for  sev- 
eral terms,  and  was  also  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1867. 
He  was  several  times  supported  by  his  party  in  the  Legislature  for 
the  office  of  United  States  Senator,  and  was  also  urged  for  the 
nomination  for  Governor.  While  in  the  Legislature  he  took  an 
active  part  in  legislation  relating  to  Brooklyn,  and  it  was  he  that 
drafted  the  first  bill  for  the  construction  of  the  Bridge.  He  also 
had  much  to  do  with  the  establishment  of  the  present  water  system 
in  that  city.  No  man  did  more  for  the  improvement  and  develop- 
ment of  Coney  Island  than  Mr.  Murphy,  and  he  was  president  of 
the  Brooklyn,  Flatbush  and  Coney  Island  Railroad  until  his  death. 
He  was  also  an  officer  of  the  Union  Ferry  Co.  and  the  Brooklyn 
City  Bail  road.  There  are  three  great  enterprises  with  which  Mr. 
Murphy's  name  will  always  be  associated — the  Dry  Dock,  Coney 
Island  Improvements,  and  the  Bridge. 

Mr.  Murphy  was  a  man  of  decided  literary  tastes,  and  was  a 
ready  and  elegant  writer.  His  library  was  one  of  the  best  in  the 
country,  comprising  about  5000  volumes,  and  being  particularly 
rich  in  works  relating  to  American  history,  especially  that  of  the 
early  colonial  period.  He  wrote  much  on  the  latter  subject,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  death  was  engaged  on  a  work  called  "  A  History 
of  Early  Maritime  Discovery  in  America."  Mr.  Murphy  died 
Dec.  1,  1882. 

JAMES  S.  T.  STRANAHAN. 

Mr.  James  S.  T.  Stranahan,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Board 
of  Bridge  Trustees,  to  whose  energy  and  business  talents  the  suc- 
cess of  the  great  work  is  largely  due,  was  born  at  Peterborough, 
N.  Y.,  April  25,  1808,  of  New  England  parentage.  His  early  life 
was  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  and  his  first  experience  as  a  busi- 
ness man  was  acquired  in  taking  cattle  to  New  York  and  Boston 
for  sale.  When  on  his  father's  farm,  he  went  to  the  district  school 
in  winter,  but  later  attended  an  academy  in  his  native  county. 
He  also  taught  school  for  a  short  time,  and  studied  civil  engineer- 
ing with  a  view  to  making  it  his  profession.  "While  still  a  lad  he 
went  to  Albany,  and  engaged  in  the  business  of  buying  and  selling 
wool.    The  late  Gerrit  Smith  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Oneida 


90 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


County,  and  induced  Mr.  Stranahan  to  found  a  manufacturing  vil- 
lage there.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  town  of  Florence,  which 
rapidly  developed  into  a  place  of  several  thousand  inhabitants.  In 
1838  Mr.  Stranahan  was  sent  to  the  Assembly  from  the  town. 

He  removed  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1840,  and  became  connected 
with  railroad  enterprises  there,  but  in  1844  he  transferred  his  resi- 
dence to  Brooklyn,  and  in  1848  became  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  from  the  Sixth  Ward.  He  ran  for  Mayor  in  1850,  but 
was  defeated  by  his  opponent,  the  late  Samuel  Smith.  In  1854, 
however,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  in  1860  was  a  member 
of  the  Republican  Convention  that  nominated  Lincoln.    In  1864 


JAMES  S.  T.  STRANAHAN. 
FROM   A   PHOTOGRAPH  BY  RAWSON. 


he  was  a  Commissioner  of  Police  in  New  York,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  renominated  Lincoln, 
and  was  also  one  of  the  Presidential  electors  on  the  Republican 
ticket. 

During  the  civil  war,  Mr.  Stranahan  rendered  venerable  services 
to  the  Union  cause.  He  was  president  of  the  War  Fund  Com- 
mittee, which,  together  with  the  Woman's  Relief  Association,  of 
which  Mrs.  Stranahan  was  president,  organized  the  famous  Sanitary 
Fair  in  Brooklyn,  by  which  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  were 
raised  for  the  general  sanitary  fund. 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE.  91 


For  many  years  past  Mr.  Stranahan  has  been  conspicuous  in 
almost  all  the  great  enterprises  undertaken  for  the  improvement 
and  development  of  Brooklyn.  The  Atlantic  Docks,  begun  in 
1841,  owe  much  to  his  energy.  But  Prospect  Park  is  the  great 
work  with  which  Mr.  Stranahan's  name  is  most  prominently  as- 
sociated. From  the  passage  of  the  bill  which  created  the  Park 
Commission,  in  1860,  until  very  recently,  Mr.  Stranahan  was  presi- 
dent of  that  body,  and  it  was  mainly  by  his  enterprise  and  perse- 
verance that  the  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  undertaking 
were  overcome. 

Mr.  Stranahan's  services  in  the  Board  of  Bridge  Trustees  are 
well  known  to  the  public ;  and  at  the  present  time,  when  people 
are  ready  to  acknowledge  the  fidelity  and  zeal  of  those  who  have 
brought  the  gigantic  undertaking  to  a  successful  termination,  no 
small  share  of  the  praise  and  credit  to  which  they  are  entitled  will 
be  accorded  to  Mr.  Stranahan. 


SETH  LOW. 

Mayor  Seth  Low,  who  daring  his  short  service  as  Mayor  of 
Brooklyn  has  done  much  to  hurry  on  the  building  of  the  Bridge, 
was  born  in  Brooklyn  about  1850,  and  is  the  youngest  man  who 
ever  held  that  position.  Mr.  Low  is  the  son  of  A.  A.  Low,  the 
well-known  merchant,  and  was  educated  at  the  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute in  Brooklyn,  and  at  Columbia  College.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  his  father's  firm,  and  thus  acquired  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  those  business  principles  which  have  distinguished  his 
administration  as  mayor.  He  never  held  a  political  office  until  he 
was  elected  mayor,  but  always  displayed  an  intelligent  and  active 
interest  in  muncipal  affairs.  His  efforts  in  the  cause  of  honest 
and  economical  municipal  government  and  the  elimination  of  par- 
tisan politics  from  the  city  government  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  develop  among  the  voters  of  his  city  those  sentiments 
which  have  made  it  so  conspicuous  for  the  independence  of  its  citi- 
zens in  local  politics.  Mr.  Low  was  nominated  for  mayor  in  the 
fall  of  1881  under  peculiar  circumstances.  A  large  meeting  of 
citizens,  irrespective  of  party,  had  nominated  Mr.  Ripley  Ropes 
for  Mayor,  and  Mr.  Low  was  one  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the 


92 


NEW   ;i)  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


Young  Republican  Chi  >  to  urge  the  Republican  City  Convention 
to  endorse  Mr.  Raped  us  the  regular  Republican  candidate.  Mr. 
Low  presented  the  cause  of  the  citizens  very  forcibly  before  the 
convention;  and  finally  that  body,  though  refusing  to  accept  Mr. 
Ropes,  nominated  Mr.  Low  himself,  much  against  his  own  pro- 
test. It  was  with  great  reluctance,  and  only  at  the  urgent  solici- 
tation of  his  friends,  that  Mr.  Low  accepted  the  nomination  and 
consented  to  run,  Mr.  Ropes  withdrawing  in  his  favor.    Mr.  Low 


SET  FT  LOW. 


FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH  BY  RAWSON. 

declared,  however,  that  he  considered  himself  no  party  candidate, 
but  the  candidate  of  the  citizens  of  Brooklyn.  After  a  vigorous  and 
exciting  canvass  Mr.  Low  was  elected  by  a  considerable  majority, 
notwithstanding  that  his  opponent  was  Mayor  Howell,  who  had 
served  two  terms  with  eminent  fidelity  and  success.  Since  enter- 
ing upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  Mayor  Low  has  amply  ful- 
filled the  expectations  of  the  citizens  by  whose  votes  he  was  elected, 
and  his  administration  has  been  characterized  by  a  high  degree  of 
intelligence,  vigor,  independence,  a'nd  economy.    By  virtue  of  his 


MEN  PROMINENT  IN  THE  BRIDGE  ENTERPRISE. 


93 


position  as  mayor  he  became  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  Bridge,  and  energetically  discharged  his  duties  as  such. 
During  his  short  term  of  service  he  has  done  much  to  accelerate 
the  completion  of  the  great  work,  and  has  taken  a  leading  part  in 
all  matters  relating  to  the  enterprise. 


94 


NEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 


DATES  OF  INTEREST  IN  BRIDGE  MATTERS. 


William  C.  Kingsley  has  plans  and  estimates  drawn,  1865. 

Henry  C.  Murphy  introduces  act  of  incorporation  in  Senate  of  New  York, 

January  25,  1867.    Act  passed,  April  16,  1867. 
Act  transferring  Bridge  to  the  two  cities  passed,  June  5,  1874. 
Company  organized,  May,  1867. 
John  A.  Roebling  appointed  engineer,  May  23,  1867. 
John  A.  Roebling  died,  July  22,  1869. 
Washington  A.  Roebling  appointed  engineer,  July,  1869. 
Work  commenced  at  the  Brooklyn  tower,  January  3,  1870. 
Brooklyn  caisson  towed  to  its  berth,  May  2,  1870. 
First  blocks  laid  on  it,  June  16,  1870. 
Excavation  under  it  commenced,  July  10,  1870. 
Fire  in  the  Brooklyn  caisson,  discovered  Dec.  2,  1870. 
Great  fire  in  the  Brooklyn  caisson  discovered,  December  2,  1870. 
Engineer  Col.  Roebling  partially  paralyzed,  December  2,  1870. 
Caisson  filled  and  finished,  March  11,  1871. 
New  York  caisson  towed  to  its  berth,  October,  1871. 
Filled  and  finished  in  May,  1872. 
Brooklyn  tower  completed,  May,  1875. 
New  York  tower  completed,  July,  1876. 
First  wire  rope  stretched  over  the  river,  August  14,  1876. 
First  crossing  on  the  wire,  August  25,  1876. 
Foot-bridge  finished  and  crossed,  February  9,  1877. 
First  cable  wire  run  over  and  regulated,  May  29,  1877. 
Running  and  regulating  cable  wires  commenced,  June  11,  1877. 
Last  wire  run  over,  October  5,  1878. 
Strand  broke  loose,  June  14,  1878. 
Henry  C.  Murphy  died,  December  1,  1882. 
Bridge  opened,  May  24,  1883. 


OTHER  STATISTICS. 

Length  of  New  York  approach,  1562|  feet. 

Length  of  Brooklyn  approach,  971  feet. 

Size  of  anchorages  at  base,  129  x  119  feet. 

Size  of  anchorages  at  top,  117  x  114  feet. 

Height  of  anchorages  in  front,  85  feet. 

Height  of  anchorages  in  rear,  80  feet. 

Weight  of  anchorages,  about  60,000  tons  each. 

Weight  of  anchor  plates,  each  23  tons. 

Length  of  each  land  span,  anchorage  to  tower,  930  feet. 

Size  of  Brooklyn  caisson,  168  x  102  feet. 

Thickness  of  top  of  Brooklyn  caisson,  15  feet. 

Depth  of  Brooklyn  foundations  below  high-water  mark,  44^-  feet. 

Timber  and  iron  in  caisson,  5253  cubic  yards. 

Concrete  filled  into  Brooklyn  caisson,  5669  cubic  feet. 

Size  of  New  York  caisson,  172  x  102  feet. 

Thickness  of  top  of  New  York  caisson,  22  feet. 

Depth  of  New  York  foundations  below  high-water  mark,  78|  feet. 

Weight  of  New  York  caisson,  7000  tons. 

Concrete  filled  into  New  York  caisson,  7000  tons. 

Bolts  and  angle  irons  of  New  York  caisson,  250  tons. 

Size  of  towers  at  high-water  mark,  140  x  59  feet. 

Size  of  towers  at  top,  136  x  53  feet. 

Height  of  roadway  at  towers,  119  feet. 

Height  of  arches  above  roadway,  117  feet. 

Height  of  towers  above  roadwa}-,  159  feet. 

Total  height  of  towers  above  high-water,  271  feet  6  inches. 

Total  height  Brooklyn  tower,  base  to  summit,  316  feet. 

Total  height  New  York  tower,  base  to  summit,  350  feet. 

Width  of  opening  through  towers,  33  feet  9  inches. 

Cubic  yards  of  masonry  in  New  York  tower,  46,945. 

Cubic  yards  of  masonry  in  Brooklyn  tower,  38.214. 

Length  of  main  span,  tower  to  tower,  1595  feet  6  inches. 

Height  of  main  span  above  high-water  mark,  135  feet  6  inches. 

Number  of  cables,  4. 

Diameter  of  cables,  15  feet  9  inches. 

Length  of  each  cable,  3578  feet  6  inches. 

Number  of  wires  in  each  cable,  5434. 

Number  of  wires  in  the  four  cables,  21,736. 


96  MEW  YORK  AND  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE. 

Total  length  of  wire  in  each  cable,  unwrapped,  3515  miles. 

Total  length  of  wire  in  the  four  cables,  unwrapped,  14,060  miles, 

Weight  of  wire,  one  pound  to  nearly  11  feet. 

Greatest  length  of  cable  wire  run  in  one  day,  88f  miles. 

Length  of  wrapping  wire  on  each  cable,  243  miles  943  feet. 

Weight  of  4  cables,  wrapped,  3588£  tons. 

Ultimate  strength  of  each  cable,  12,200  tons. 

Greatest  load  that  can  come  on  one  cable,  3000  tons. 

Number  of  suspenders  from  each  cable,  main  span,  208. 

Number  of  suspenders  from  each  cable,  land  spans,  86. 

Strength  of  a  single  suspender,  70  tons. 

•Greatest  weight  in  a  single  suspender,  10  tons. 

Number  of  postbands,  each  land  span,  one  cable,  35. 

Number  of  overfloor  stays,  432. 

Total  length  of  bridge,  5989  feet. 

Full  width  of  flooring,  85  feet. 

Grade  of  roadway,  3£  feet  in  100. 

Natural  elevation  above  high- water,  Brooklyn  terminus,  61£  feet. 

Natural  elevation  above  high-water,  New  York  terminus,  38£  feet. 

Weight  of  the  whole  suspended  structure,  6740  tons. 

Maximum  weight  to  be  got  in  it,  1380  tons. 

Maximum  weight  of  roadway  and  traffic  in  cables,  6920  tons. 

Maximum  weight  of  roadway  and  traffic  on  stays,  1190  tons. 


THE  GREAT  BRIDGE 

IN  ITS 

RELATIONS  TO  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

The  Bridge  was  built  in  order  to  bring  nearer  together  the  Busi- 
ness Interests  of  New  York  and  the  Home  Interests  of  Brooklyn. 
New  York  is  a  business  city  ;  Brooklyn  is  a  city  of  homes.  Of  what 
use  is  a  prosperous  business  unless  a  man  has  a  happy  home  to  go  to 
when  business  is  over  for  the  day,  which  he  may  beautify  with  the 
gains  of  business,  and  where  he  may  treasure  up  all  that  makes  life 
desirable  or  business  necessary  ? 

Life  Insurance  is  the  shield  of  the  home,  and  the  efficient  ally  of 
the  business  man  in  providing  and  maintaining  it.  It  bridges  over 
the  rushing  current  of  active  life,  so  that  if  disaster  befall  the  hus- 
band and  father  wife  and  little  ones  will  not  be  swept  away  upon  its 
angry  surges.  Moreover  it  provides  a  serene  haven  for  old  age,  by 
its  Endowment  Policies,  so  that  when  business  capacities  fail,  the 
home  will  receive  and  protect  those  who  are  weary  wi  th  the  struggles 
of  life. 

The  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company 

is  a  purely  mutual  company,  that  is  to  say,  it  belongs  to  its  policy- 
holders, just  as  the  great  Bridge  belongs  to  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 
There  are  no  stockholders  to  make  money  out  of  it,  and  as  all  tolls  on 
the  bridge  go  into  the  coffers  of  the  people,  so  all  moneys  paid  to  the 
New  York  Life  are  for  the  benefit  of  the  policy-holders.  The  tolls 
of  neither  are  burdensome,  and  the  benefits  of  both  are  great.  The 
New  York  Life,  like  the  Bridge,  has  solid  foundations — the  Bridge 
the  everlasting  rock  or  its  equivalent,  and  the  Company  a  round  and 
sound  Fifty  million  dollars.  The  towers  of  the  Company — seen  from 
afar — are  about  Thirty-three  million  dollars  paid  in  Death-claims  and 
Endowments,  and  Thirty-five  millions  in  Dividends  and  Return 
Premiums. 

Since  the  Bridge  was  begun  the  New  York  Life  has  increased 
its  assets  over  Thirty-seven  million  dollars — enough  to  build  two  such 
bridges,  and  leave  a  handsome  surplus.  About  the  time  the  Bridge 
was  begun  the  Company  began  the  issue  of  its  now  well-known  and 
popular  "  Tontine  Investment  Policies."  These  policies  are  now 
maturing  with  results  that  have  already  earned  for  them  the  designa- 
tion of  "the  best  form  of  insurance  of  the  age,"  and  "the  most 
profitable  form  of  policy  written  by  any  life  company."  Every  ap- 
proved form  of  policy  written  on  favorable  terms,  with  the  non- 
forfeiture features  first  introduced  by  this  Company.  If  you  wish 
estimates  on  a  Tontine  Policy,  or  any  other  information  on  life  insur- 
ance, send  name,  address,  and  age  to  the  Company,  or  to  its  agents. 

THE  NEW  YORK  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY, 

346  &  348  Broadway,  New  York  City. 


MOBRIS  FRANKLIN, 

4  President 


WILLIAM  H.  BEERS, 

Vice- Pres.  and  Actuary. 


IE1.    IR^_A.S    &  CO. 

IMPORTERS  AND 

Wholesale  Druggists, 

THE  ONLT   WHOLESALE  DRUG  HOUSE  EH  BROOKLYN, 

52  FULTON  and  47  DOUGHTY  STREETS, 

BROOKLYN,    IV.  Y. 


Ebony  Placques,  Moonlight  Photography, 
and  other  Photo  Novelties  are  attracting  much 
attention  and  patronage  at  DURYEA'S,  233 
Fulton  street,  Brooklyn,  where  prices  are 
moderate  and  quality  of  work  the  finest.  We 
were  also  shown  some  beautiful  life  size 
Photographs  which  we  thought  superior  to 
anything  of  the  kind  yet  exhibited  in  Brooklyn. 


DEGRAAF  &  TAYLOR, 

47  and  49  West  Fourteenth  and  48  West  F  if  teeth  Streets 

(BETWEEN  FIFTH  AND  SIXTH  ATEXVIS). 

NEW  YORK. 
THE  T_.^.^LO-EST 

FURNITURE 

ESTABLISHMENT  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

SUPERIOR    FACILITIES    FOR  MANUFACTURING. 

Furnishing  Eesidences  Omplete  a  Specialty. 


FAIRBANKS' 

STANDARD  SCALES 


The  Largest  and  Oldest  Scale  Works  in  the  World. 


Railway  and  Express  Copying  Presses, 


THE  HANCOCK  INSPIRATOR. 


50,000  NOW  IN  USE. 


FAIRBANKS  &  COMPANY, 

311  Broadway,  New  York. 


ITABOVE  ALL  COMPETITORS. 


The  Light  Running 


NEW  HOME 


SEWING  MACHINE 

PERFECT  IN  EVERY  PARTICULAR. 

Has  more  Improvements  than  all  other  Sewing  Machines  combined. 



^ic  NEW  v  HOME  jH- 

SE^A^IDCTG-  MACHI1TEI  OO. 

30  Union  Square,  New  York. 

CHICAGO,  111. ;   ORANGE,  Mass.,  and  ATLANTA,  Ga. 


CHARLES  A.  ANDERSON, 

ARTIST  TAILOR, 

840  Broadway, 
€br.  Thirteenth  Street,  ZEST  IE  "W  TOEK. 


Esta*Tp1  i  sin  e<3-  Half  a  Century. 


JT.    B.    CROOK    &  CO., 

-77-"  gQ  and  <52  Fulton  St.,  and  34  Cliff  St.,  New  Yor7c. 


Manufacturers  and  Importers  of 


Hi£h  Class  Fishing  Tackle,  Guns,  Cutlery,  Lawn  Tennis,  Archery, 
Fishing"  Nets,  Base  Ball,  Cricket,  and  every  article  used  in 
Out  Door  Sport. 

SPECIALTIES: 

THOMAS  ALDRED'S  LONDON  ARCHERY. 

FRANCIS  DARK'S  CRICKET  GOODS. 

ROGERS  &  WOSTENHOLMS  CUTLERY. 

NATURALISTS  AND  TAXIDERMISTS. 

We  are  the  Originators  of  the  GAME  PANELS  so  extensively  used  in  Home 

Decorations. 

BIRD  SKINS  BOUGHT  AND  SOLD. 

201  SIXTH  AVENUE. 

Opposite  Macy's,  NEW  YORK. 

39  GREENPOINT  AVENUE, 

Near  Greenpoint  Ferries,     BROOKLYN,  E.  D. 
CLUB  EATES. 

For  Imperial  Photos,  11  Tickets  for  $20.00.  The  11th  ono  being  froo  to  tbo  one  getting  up  the  elab,  aad  U 
rrcry  member  of  the  club  w!U  be  presented  ono  8x10  Photo  in  addition  to  their  doien.  To  the  ono  petting  up  the 
•lab,  their  Ui— a  picture  will  bo  colored  and  framed. 

NOTICE. 

X  new  and  out  method  to  get  up  a  Club,  which  wo  aro  now  offering.  One,  two,  and  throo  tickets  ean  Ot  had 
at  a  time,  at  $2.03  each.  Hook  account  will  bo  kept  of  the  tame,  and  when  the  tenth  ono  Is  called  for,  an* 
aajaplimeotarY  ticket  will  be  given.  The  object  of  this  is  to  save  the  people  who  bur  the  tickets  from  you  the  trouble  of 
valting  until  tho  Club  is  filled  ;  therefore,  as  soon  as  you  have  paid  for  your  tlsket,  Ten  ean  come  and  sit  for  tout  plctur*. 


Wp&oUterg  ffioolr*,  JM  t?        _  3LaceL  (Eurtaw*, 
[Curtain  f&uttvi*l*',        iFurniture  CCotoermorTl 
Cable  €obet8,retc,  '  |  A    tfPortters  ft  drapers, 


No.  46     EATON  W.HthSt. 


artistic  $aper 

»attflCnfl, 
CeCUnfl  Decoration*, 


O 
N 


Cornices,  $oles, 
Crimp*,  jfrtnfles,  etc. 


Information,  designs,  estimates,  and  samples  cheerfully  furnished. 
W-A.LL    3? -A.  3?  IE  IR3 
N«w  and  Fashionable  Designs  and  Colorings  for  Side  Walls  and  Ceilings.  Send  for  samples  and  prices. 

LACE  CURTAINS.— Nottingham  and  Scotch  Curtains  in  great  variety  of  designs,  3 
yards,  3^  yards,  and  4  yards  long,  white  or  ecru,  $1.00  to  $8.00  per  pair.  Antique  Lace 
Curtains  from  $5.00  to  $15.00  per  pair.  Real  Swiss  Lace  Curtains,  hand-made,  $8.00  to  $30.00 
per  pair.  Colored  Madras  and  Cabut  Lace  Curtains  from  $5.00  to  $25.00  per  pair  :  also  by 
the  yard,  from  $1.25  to  $3.00. 

HEAVY  CURTAINS  AND  PORTIERES.— Jute  Curtains,  1^x4  yards,  $7.00  to 
$15.00  per  pair.  Reversible  Cotton  Tapestries,  lj^x4  yards,  $15.00  to  $25.00  per  pair.  Silk  and 
Wool  Tapestries, 1^x4  yards,  $25.00  to  $50.00  per  pair.  Chenille  Turkoman  Tapestries,  lj^x4 
yards,  $40.00  to  $75.00  per  pair. 

CURTAIN  MATERIALS.— Raw  Silk  Cross  Stripes  in  great  variety,  $1.00  to  $3.50  per 
yard.  Turkoman  Stripes,  Persian  style,  with  tinsel,  $1.00  to  $2.00.  Handsome  Jute,  50 
inches  wide,  50  cents  to  $1.00.  All  Wool  Felt,  72  inches,  wide  $1.50  to  $2.00.  Reps,  all  colors, 
50  inches  wide,  $1.25  to  $1.75.  Turkish  and  Roman  Satine,  50  inches  wide,  $2.25  to  $5.00. 
Reversible  Cross  Stripes,  50  inches  wide.  $1.25  to  $2.00.  Chenille  Turkoman,  plain,  $2.50  to 
$3.00;  striped,  $5.00  to  $6.00.  French  Tapestries,  with  tinsel,  $2.50  to  $6.00.  Silk  Plush,  24 
inches  wide,  $3.00  to  $4.00.  Mohair  Plush,  24  inches  wide,  $2.25  to  $3.50.  Embossed  Plush, 
$3.25  to  $4.00. 

FURNITURE  COVERINGS.— Raw  silk  and  cotton,  50  inches,  $1.00  to  $1.50.  All  raw 
silk,  $1.50  to  $3.00.   Spun  silk.  $2.50  to  $4.50.    Silk  and  Wool  Tapestries,  $4.00  to  $7.00. 

FRINGES,  GIMPS,  CORDS,  ETC.  Chenille  Fringes  from  3  to  8  inches  deep,  plain, 
shaded  and  mixed  colors,  from  20  cents  to  $1.00  per  yard.  All  the  novelties  in  chenille,  ball 
and  tassel  fringes  in  all  the  new  designs  and  colors,  from  20  cents  to  $2.50  per  yard. 

TABLE  AND  PIANO  COVERS  in  great  variety . 

Extension  WINDOW  CORNICES  to  fit  any  window,  $1.50  to  $6.00. 

CURTAIN  POLES.— With  ends,  brackets,  and  rings  complete,  5  feet  by  inches ; 
brass,  $4.50  to  $5.00  each  :  ebony,  $2.00  to  $2.50  ;  walnut  or  ash,  $1.00  to  $2.00. 

WINDOW  SHADES.— Special  attention  is  called  to  this  department,  as  the  goods  are 
manufactured  by  myself,  and  are  far  superior  to  anything  in  the  market. 

N.  B. — All  my  shades  are  made  on  cambric  or  the  finest  muslin,  in  a  separate  frame,  and 
the  color  is  rubbed  into  the  fabric  by  hand.  Every  shade  is  warranted  not  to  crack  or  to 
eurl  at  the  sides,  and  to  be  free  from  pin  holes.  Plain  Shades  to  match  any  tint,  3x6  feet,  75 
cents,  with  handsome  gold  dado,  $1.00  to  $1.50  each.  Hartshorn's  self-acting  rollers,  40  and 
50  cents  ;  tin,  $1.00.  A  large  stock  of  Shade  Hollands  (imported  only)  white  and  colored,  in 
all  the  widths  made,  from  20  to  50  cents  per  yard,  according  to  width.  Shade  tassels,  all 
colors,  from  5  to  20  cents.    Linen  Fringe,  20  to  40  cents. 

Having  obtained  the  entire  Upholstering  stock  of  the  late  Co-Operative  Dress  Association, 
I  am  now  selling  the  same  at  greatly  reduced  prices,  together  with  a  large  and  selected  stock 
of  new  and  beautiful  goods. 


DR.  HILL, 

381  SIXTH  AVE.,  NEW  YORK. 


Beautiful  sets  Gum  Teeth, 

warranted,  $10.00. 
Sets  on  Gold  and  Silver  at 
low  prices,  substantially 
made  and  beauti- 
fully filled. 


Teeth    beautifully  filled 
with  Gold,  $2.00. 

Teeth  filled  with  Silver 
and  other  materials, 
$1.00. 


We  insert  teeth  without  plates  by  use  of  the  Richmond  Crowns— beautiful,  and  will  last 


a  lifetime.  Call  and  see  us. 


DR. 


EUGENE  HILL, 

881  Sixth  Ire.,  mear  23d  St. 


1807. 


Seventy-Sixth  Season. 


1883. 


COWPERTHWAIT'S, 

408  to  412  FULTON  ST.,  BROOKLYN, 

AND 

153  to  157  CHATHAM  ST.,  NEW  YORK. 

FTOIITI1I, 

Carpets,  Bedding,  Shades,  Lambrequins,  &c,  &c. 

COMPRISING 

The  Newest  Designs  of  this  Season's  Manufacture. 

We  are  offering  Great  Bargains  either  for  cash  or  on  special  terms  of  credit, 
to  suit  customers'  convenience.    We  respectfully  invite  inspection  of 
our  elegant  and  extensive  stock. 

CLARE,  DENTIST, 

ORIGINATOR  OF  THE 

EIGHTH  AVENUE  DENTAL  ASSOCIATION 

AND 

$5.00  SETS  OF  TEETH  WHILE  WAITING. 

Teeth  Filled,  Repaired,  Gas  Administered,  Lady  in  Attendance. 

No.  379  EIGHTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK. 

One  door  South  of  29th  Street. 

RESIDENCE:  354  West  32d  St.,  between  Eighth  and  Ninth  Aves.,  N.  Y. 

PALMER  M'F'G  OO., 

106  BEEKMAW  ST.,  NEW  YORK, 


Manufacturers  ot 


COPPER  TEA  KETTLES  A  SPECIALTY. 

OZbLearpest;  IKelj-ble  for  Family  TJse. 

ORNAMENTAL   and  USEFUL. 


American  Exchange  in  Europe, 

(LIMITED.) 

(Incorporated  March,  1880,  in  succession  to  the  Agency  and  Commission  Business  of  Metsrs, 
HENRY  F.  GILLIG  &  CO..  Established  1873.) 
AUTHORIZED   CAPITAL,  $5,000,000.00. 
HEAD  OFFICE: 

449  Strand  and  3  Adelaide  Street,  London,  England. 

NEW  YORK  OFFICE:  No.  162  BROADWAY. 

President  and  Chairman  of  the  Board,  Vice-President  and  General  Manager 

JOSEPH  It.  HAW  LET.  HENRY  F.  GILLIG. 

The  Most  Comprehensive  and  Perfect  System  of 

TRAVELERS'  CREDITS. 

(A.) — CIRCULAR    LETTERS    OF  CREDIT. 

(B.) — CIRCULAR  DRAFTS. 

(O— CIRCULAR  NOTES. 

Available  Throughout  the  World. 

MONEY   P^ID   BY  CABLE  TO  TRAVELERS  IN  ANY  P^RT  OF  EUROPE. 

DRAFTS  ISSUED 
On  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  France,  Germany,  and  all  parts  of  Europe  and  the  East 
BANK   MONEY-ORDERS  GRANTED. 
Paris  Agents:  AMERICAN  EXCHANGE  IN  PARIS,  [Limited.] 

HENRY  F.  GILLIG,  President,      -      35  Boulevard  des  Capucinea. 

TELECRAPHIC  ADDRESSES: 

GILLIG,  London.  GILLIG,  Paris.  GILLIG,  New  York. 

American  Exchange  Travelers'  Bureau. 

C.  A.  BARATTONI,  Manager. 

In  Connection  with  the  American  Exchange,  in  Europe,  (Limited.) 

EXJT^OT?T±]^3Sr  TEAVEL. 

Established  for  the  promotion  of  Pleasure  Travel  to  all  Lands,  and  for  the  convenience  and 
protection  of  American  Travelers  in  foreign  countries.  The  only  American  institution  of  the 
kind  in  existence. 

Founded  by  Americans,  managed  by  reliable  and  experienced  men,  and  controlled  by  American 
capital. 

The  only  American  Institution  having  its  own  offices  in  Europe  and  employing  a  carefully 
trained  staff  conversant  with  the  ta-jtes  and  requirements  of  Americans  traveling  abroad. 

Reliable  information  cheerfully  imparted  in  person  or  by  mail  to  all  persons  contemplating 
to  travel  abroad. 

General  Agency  for  all  lines  of  transatlantic  steamers.  Exceptional  facilities  for  securing 
god  berths  and  staterooms  at  short  notice,  on  any  steamer  sailing  from  New  York,  Boston 
or  Philadelphia.   No  charges  made  for  this  service. 

Tickets  issued  to  individual  travelers  for  single  or  return  journeys  to  all  parts  of  Ireland, 
Scotland,  England,  Holland,  Belgium,  the  Rhine  District,  Northern  and  Southern  Germany, 
Switzerland,  Italy,  France,  the  Orient,  etc. 

Escorted  parties,  t->  travel  abroad  under  experienced  representatives,  are  being  continually 
organized  during  the  season  for  attractive  tours,  visiting  all  places  of  interest.  Duration  of  the 
trip,  two  three  and  four  months,  according  to  the  routes  selected. 

Guide  Books,  Books  of  Travel  and  Maps  furnished  to  travelers  at  liberal  prices.  List  sent 
©n  application. 

Passports  for  native  and  naturalized  citizens  obtained  from  the  State  Department  in  Washing- 
ton at  short  notice.    Notary  Public  in  the  office. 

All  persons  traveling  under  the  auspices  of  the  Travelers'  Bureau,  enjoy  the  freedom  and 
numerous  privileges  of  the  American  Exchange  in  Europe,  449  Strand,  London,  and  35  Boulerard 
des  Capucines,  Paris. 

^nvcET^ic^isr  tplze^sttzre  travel. 

Information  cheerfully  imparted,  and  tickets  issued  to  all  places  of  pleasure  resorts  in  tho 
United  States  and  Canada. 

"  Travel,"  a  publication  devoted  to  the  interests  of  travelers  in  all  lands,  containing  erery 
information  and  illustrated  with  maps,  is  published  monthly.  Address  AMERICAN  EXCHANGE 
TRAVELERS'  BUREAU,  16a  Broadway,  New  York. 


SOHMER 


II 


Grand,  Square  &  Upright  Pianos. 


Messrs.  SOHMER  &  CO.  take  great  pleasure  in  announcing  to  their  numer- 
ous friends  and  patrons  that,  after  a  severe  and  critical  test  by  the  Judges  of 
Musical  Instruments — in  which  nearly  all  the  prominent  and  leading  manufactur- 
ers of  the  United  States  and  Canada  were  represented — they  have  conferred  upon 
"SOHMER  &  CO."  the  highest  honors,  viz.:  First  Prize  Diploma  of 
Honor,  and  Honorable  Mention,  and  a  Diploma  of  Special 
Excellence  for  BABY  GJRANDS,  which  was  the  highest  and 
only  one  given. 

Messrs.  SOHMER  &  CO.  will  strive  to  merit  the  confidence  intrusted  them 
by  the  trade,  and  will  continue  their  strenuous  efforts  to  excel  in  all  the  various 
styles  of  Pianos  manufactured. 

SOHMER  &  CO.,  149  to  155  E.  14th  St.,  New  York. 

OTIS  PARLOR  BED. 

Latest— Best— C heapest. 

TURNS  DOWN  WIDTH  INSTEAD  OF  LENGTH. 

Entirely  New  Principle. 

feices  ^Konvn  $20  to  $200. 
OTIS  PARLOR  BED  CO.,  1 14  W.  14th  St.,  near  6th  Av.,  N.  Y. 


PRIZE  MEDAL  SOAPS  AND  PERFUMES 


teroational 


mi 


Centennial 
Exhibition, 
liladelohia, 


1876, 


R.  LOW,  SON  &  HAYDON, 

Perfumers  to  the  Queen, 

No.  330  STRAND  (opposite  Somerset  House),  LONDON, 

(ROBERT  LOW'S  SON,  NEW  YORK,) 


MANUFACTURERS  OF  THE 


CHOICEST  ARTICLES  OF  PERFUMERY, 

Long  celebrated  for  their  superior  quality,  and  sold  in  every  town  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  most  parts  of  the  Continent,  in  the  East  and  West  Indies, 
North  and  South  America,  China,  and  other  parts  of  the  Globe. 


t^rx  \c\  Y>T>Vl  The  Extract  is  the  only  specific  for  this  disease,  Cold  in 
KJCA,  Loll  1 I±.  Head,  etc.    Our  "  Catarrh  Cure,"  specially  prepared  to 

meet  serious  cases,  contains  all  the  curative  properties  of  the  Extract; 

our  Nasal  Syringe  invaluable  for  use  in  catarrhal  affections,  is  simple 

and  inexpensive. 

Rheumatism,  Neuralgia.  Noothei -  p^™"™ 


of  these  distressing  complaints  as  the  Extract. 


has  cured  so  many  cases 


TTPTTI  OT*"PTl  Pi  £TP^  Bleeding  from  the  Lungs,  Stomach,  Nose,  or  from 
AAOJALL/l  A  J-lct^rjo.  ailv  cause;  is  speedily  controlled  and  stopped. 

Diphtheria  and  Sore  Throat.  tI2S^ 

ly.    It  is  a  sure  cure.    Delay  is  dangerous. 
For  Piles,  Blind,  Bleeding  or  Itching,  it  is  the  greatest  known  remedy. 
For  Ulcers,  Old  Sores  or  Open  Wounds  its  action  upon  these  is  most 

remarkable. 

EMMA  ABBOTT.— "Valuable  and  beneficial." 

HEYWOOD  SMITH,  M.D.,  M.R.C.P.,  of  England. — "I  have  used  it 
with  marked  benefit." 

CAUTION. 

POND'S  EXTRACT  has  been  imitated.  The  genuine  has  the  words  "POND'S  EX- 
TRACT ' '  blown  in  the  glass,  and  our  picture  trade-mark  on  surrounding  buff  wrapper.  None 
other  is  genuine.   Always  insist  on  having  POND'S  EXTRACT.   Take  no  other  preparation. 

It  is  never  sold  in  bulk  or  by  measure. 

POND'S  EXTRACT  CO.,  14  West  14th  St.,  N.  Y. 


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